The Indiana Pacers are one game away from the second round of the playoffs after winning their third consecutive game over the Milwaukee Bucks, taking Game 4 thanks to a hot shooting night that led them to a XXX-XXX win.
The Bucks came into the game shorthanded, with Damian Lillard (Achilles strain) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf strain) both out for the night, and things went from bad to worse in the early going when Bobby Portis got tossed after getting in a scrap with Andrew Nembhard in the first quarter.
Portis & Nembhard exchanging shoves pic.twitter.com/W6ZDB9JXNE
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) April 28, 2024
Even with Portis adding to their roster crunch, the Bucks were able to hang around thanks to Brook Lopez turning the clock back to his Nets days and Khris Middleton continuing his strong play from Game 3. The Pacers could only open up a 67-64 lead despite a strong offensive half, as the defense wasn’t able to string together stops.
Khris Middleton takes the bump for 2 + the foul
Bucks-Pacers 2Q action on TNT pic.twitter.com/WhBo9nCtr0
— NBA (@NBA) April 28, 2024
Tyrese Haliburton drains the @Pacers‘ TWELFTH triple of the 1H
A new franchise record for 3-pointers in a half in Pacers’ playoff history
IND leads MIL 67-64 at halftime of Game 4! pic.twitter.com/KaN4caoo1C
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2024
Indiana opened things up in the third quarter, though, as they continued to rain threes down on the Bucks. Tyrese Haliburton broke out of his shooting slump (5-of-12 from three) and Myles Turner (7-of-9 from deep) was sensational to lead the way offensively, but the Pacers also finally started to get some stops on the defensive end to open up a 17-point lead.
Aaron Nesmith’s block leads to Tyrese Haliburton’s pull up 3
Hali has 21 PTS (playoff career high)… Pacers up 10 early in the 3Q on TNT! pic.twitter.com/8NpR0T3ywW
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2024
During that run, Turner authored the highlight of the night when he threw down a wild finish on Brook Lopez that caused an eruption in the arena.
MYLES TURNER WITH AUTHORITY pic.twitter.com/3v0S0SCWdt
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 29, 2024
Despite all of that, the Bucks continued to fight, chipping away to get the lead back down to six in the early fourth quarter thanks to the continued efforts of Middleton (who aggravated his left ankle but quickly returned to the game) and Lopez.
Brook Lopez nails the 3 to cap a 14-3 Bucks’ run
He has 25 PTS… Bucks trail by 6 in the 4Q on TNT #NBAPlayoffs presented by Google Pixel pic.twitter.com/55EJqIE9ws
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2024
Ultimately, the Bucks just did not have the firepower on the night to keep up with a hot shooting Pacers squad. Turner continued to pour in threes and eventually the benches were emptied after a dagger with just over two minutes to play.
Myles Turner drills his SIXTH triple of the night
Pacers seeking a 3-1 series lead on TNT! pic.twitter.com/VsVWYL6Wrh
— NBA (@NBA) April 29, 2024
All five Pacers starters reached double figures in scoring, led by Turner’s 29 and Haliburton’s 24. As a team they shot 22-of-43 from three, including four players hitting three or more from deep. Milwaukee got 52 from Lopez and Middleton, with Malik Beasley chipping in 20, but they simply could not keep up on a night Indiana shot over 50 percent from three.
Now the series shifts back to Milwaukee for a win-or-stay-home Game 5 for the Bucks. The statuses of Giannis and Lillard loom large for that game, and if the stars aren’t back for Milwaukee it’s hard to see how this series returns to Indiana.