04/23/24 11:33:00
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04/23 23:31 CDT Pascal Siakam leads resurgent Pacers offense in 125-108 victory
that evens series with Bucks
Pascal Siakam leads resurgent Pacers offense in 125-108 victory that evens
series with Bucks
By STEVE MEGARGEE
AP Sports Writer
MILWAUKEE (AP) --- As a former champion on a team without much postseason
experience, Pascal Siakam understands what it's going to take for the Indiana
Pacers to advance beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time in
a decade.
Siakam's certainly doing his part.
The former Toronto Raptors forward scored 37 points and the Pacers overcame
another fantastic first-half performance from Damian Lillard to beat the
Milwaukee Bucks 125-108 on Tuesday night and tie their Eastern Conference
first-round playoff series at a game apiece.
Game 3 is Friday in Indianapolis.
"We've got to be the hungry team," Siakam said. "We've got to be the team
that's coming in and wanting to show something. That's the attitude that we've
got to have against those guys, because they've done it before."
The Pacers had plenty of appetite Tuesday as they snapped a 10-game playoff
losing streak that began with a Game 7 loss to Cleveland in a 2018 first-round
series.
Indiana acquired Siakam in January in part because of his experience as a
member of the 2019 Toronto Raptors championship team. He followed up his
36-point performance in Game 1 by shooting 16 of 23 from the floor and
finishing with 11 rebounds and six assists on Tuesday.
"His experience in the playoffs is so valuable," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle
said. "He's not a guy that's going to get rattled by anything. Never has once
since January, since we got him. He's a guy that people confide in and look up
to."
The Pacers needed Siakam to step up because Lillard was once again coming up
huge for the Bucks, at least in the first two periods.
Two nights after scoring all 35 of his points in the first half of the Bucks'
109-94 Game 1 victory, Lillard had 26 by halftime Tuesday and finished with 34.
It wasn't enough.
"I think both games we had a lot of success in the first two quarters mainly,
and then in the second half we kind of get away from the things we had a lot of
success doing," Lillard said.
Lillard didn't get enough help with the Bucks once again missing two-time MVP
Giannis Antetokounmpo due to a strained left calf. Antetokounmpo hasn't played
since he was hurt in an April 9 victory over the Boston Celtics.
Even after Lillard's big early onslaught, the Bucks still trailed 60-55 at
halftime. Indiana stayed ahead throughout the second half.
"We were more consistent, played with more force, played with more attitude,"
Carlisle said. "There were some tough stretches in the game. I liked the way we
kept our poise and our aggression. We kept attacking."
The Pacers led the NBA with 123.3 points per game during the regular season but
posted their lowest point total and field-goal percentage (.396) while shooting
8 of 38 on 3-pointers in Game 1. This time, Indiana looked more like the team
that won four of five regular-season matchups with the Bucks while scoring at
least 122 points in each.
"I thought we struggled execution-wise on the offensive end, and I thought that
bled over to the defensive end," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was
more our offense tonight."
Myles Turner scored 22 points and Andrew Nembhard 20 for the Pacers. Tyrese
Haliburton had 12 points and 12 assists.
Milwaukee's Brook Lopez scored 22 points and shot 6 of 7 from 3-point range.
Khris Middleton scored 15 points. Bobby Portis had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bucks cut Indiana's lead to one late in the third quarter and got it down
to four in the opening minutes of the fourth. The Pacers responded each time
and pushed their lead to 23 in the fourth quarter by following Siakam's advice.
"He's established himself on a our team as a veteran leader, as somewhat of a
mentor because he's been there," Carlisle said. "He's constantly saying, ?Keep
your edge. Keep your edge. Keep your edge.' He's been through these things too
many times."
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