NBA playoffs: Tyrese Haliburton’s game-winner lifts Pacers to 2-1 lead over Bucks
Tyrese Haliburton struggled to find his shooting touch on Friday night.
So he looked for other ways to impact the game: a thunderous slam-dunk after a rebound, finding open teammates and patiently waiting for an opportunity to make a statement. Then, in the waning seconds of overtime, Haliburton wanted the ball.
The All-Star guard completed a three-point play with 1.6 seconds left, capping off his first postseason triple-double in his first home playoff game and giving the Indiana Pacers a 121-118 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Indiana leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, with Game 4 Sunday in Indianapolis.
“You know I was going to shoot it no matter what,” Haliburton said. “What I would get was really based on feeling. over there. Khris (Middleton) pushed Pascal (Siakam) up to tell Patrick (Beverley) to go under and as soon as I saw Patrick turn his head I reacted and everything opened up in the middle and I finally made a shot. I couldn’t buy a bucket tonight.’
Yes, Haliburton was just 8 of 22 from the field and 1 of 12 on three-pointers. But he did almost everything else well, finishing with 18 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds as two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out again for Milwaukee with a left calf strain.
Myles Turner 29 points added and nine rebounds, both career highs, to give Indiana their first consecutive postseason wins since winning three straight in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2014.
The Pacers also hold their first playoff lead since Game 3 of a first-round matchup against Cleveland in 2018. Indiana hasn’t won a series since reaching the 2014 Eastern Conference finals.
“It was a very nice match and overtime, what more could you want?” Haliburton said. “It was a really nice atmosphere.”
Maybe not so much fun for a Bucks team that has become more bruised and battered by the game.
Middleton finished with a career-high 42 points and had 10 rebounds and five assists after missing practice Thursday due to a sprained right ankle. He forced extra time by making a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in regulation, he knocked in a three to tie the score with 6.7 seconds left in overtime and then missed a three at the buzzer that could have sparked a second overtime enforce.
Damian Lillard added 28 points and eight assists, most of which came after he hurt his left knee in the first quarter and then aggravated an Achilles tendon injury late in the fourth.
“We just have to turn the page and get one win after another,” said Lillard, who is playing in his first postseason with the Bucks, who are 2-6 against Indiana this season.
It was a wild finish in front of a festive crowd decked out in gold T-shirts for Indiana’s first home game since April 21, 2019 – and with many local favorites in attendance. The audience included Indiana Fever newcomer Caitlin Clark, former Colts coach Tony Dungy, former Pacers forward Derrick McKey and current Colts players Anthony Richardson, Kenny Moore II and EJ Speed.
But these fans never expected that the veteran Bucks would methodically cut a 19-point first-half deficit to 90-83 after three quarters or that they would open the fourth with a 10-2 run to take a 95-point lead. -92 to take on Bobby Portis Jr.’s setback. early in the fourth.
The teams then traded baskets, ties and leads over the final seven and a half minutes of regulation, with Siakam’s putback with 19.1 seconds left giving the Pacers a 109-106 lead. But Siakam missed the ensuing free throw, Middleton answered with a mid-range shot and the three tied the score. Siakam’s long three to win hit the back of the rim at the buzzer.
“I thought we picked up our energy, I thought we got more physical,” Lillard said. “We had things under control a little bit, we got at each other, got into gaps and thought once we started doing all those things, the game started turning. That is something we need to focus on.”
It was more of the same in overtime – until Haliburton broke free for the mid-range shot that drew a foul and led to the decisive three-point play.
Siakam had 17 points and nine rebounds. Portis had 17 points and 18 rebounds for the Bucks.