INDIANAPOLIS — Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers stole one from the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
Indiana forced two turnovers in the final 29 seconds of overtime, and Haliburton blew past Giannis Antetokounmpo for the go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left to give the Pacers a 119-118 victory and a 4-1 series win.
The Pacers closed the game with an 8-0 run over the final 40 seconds of OT to eliminate the Bucks in the first round for the second straight season. They will face top-seeded Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Haliburton had 26 points and 10 assists as he improved to 9-0 in home playoff games. This chippy playoff series ended fittingly with a shoving match between the teams at midcourt.
The Bucks and Pacers going at it after the game 😮 pic.twitter.com/802elTgRgR
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 30, 2025
Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to will the short-handed Bucks to victory, finishing with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists, and Gary Trent Jr. made eight 3-pointers and scored 33 points for Milwaukee.
But Trent was also the culprit in the two turnovers late in OT. His inbound pass was stolen by Andrew Nembhard Jr., leading to a three-point play by Haliburton. And then, with the Bucks leading by one and just needing to maintain possession and get to the free-throw line, the Pacers pressured the ball, forcing Milwaukee to scramble. Trent couldn’t control an errant pass and lost the ball out of bounds with 10.8 seconds left.
INCREDIBLE.
Tyrese Haliburton overtime game-winner to advance. pic.twitter.com/Smau9ScsJY
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 30, 2025
After Haliburton converted the go-ahead shot, all Milwaukee could manage was a nearly full-court heave by Trent that had no chance.
Myles Turner had 21 points and nine rebounds while Aaron Nesmith added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers. Nembhard made a 3-pointer to start Indiana’s closing run and finished with 15 points.
In an effort to avoid a third straight first-round exit, Bucks coach Doc Rivers plugged guards AJ Green and Kevin Porter Jr. and forward Bobby Portis Jr. into the starting lineup. The Bucks were missing 10-time All-Star Damian Lillard, who tore his left Achilles tendon in Game 4 on Sunday night.
Antetokounmpo 9-17 11-17 30, Green 6-11 1-2 19, Portis 6-18 0-0 14, Porter Jr. 4-10 2-3 11, Trent Jr. 12-25 1-2 33, Kuzma 2-5 0-0 5, Prince 0-1 0-0 0, Lopez 0-1 2-2 2, Sims 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 41-90 17-26 118.
Nesmith 8-15 0-0 19, Siakam 5-12 0-2 10, Turner 5-11 8-10 21, Haliburton 10-22 4-4 26, Nembhard 5-14 2-2 15, Toppin 1-3 2-2 5, Walker 0-2 0-0 0, Bryant 0-0 0-0 0, Mathurin 2-3 1-4 5, McConnell 7-11 4-4 18, Sheppard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 43-93 21-28 119.
Milwaukee 30 17 28 28 15 — 118
Indiana 13 28 34 28 16 — 119
3-Point Goals: Milwaukee 19-40 (Trent Jr. 8-17, Green 6-10, Portis 2-5, Antetokounmpo 1-2, Kuzma 1-2, Porter Jr. 1-2, Lopez 0-1, Prince 0-1), Indiana 12-33 (Nembhard 3-5, Nesmith 3-6, Turner 3-6, Haliburton 2-10, Toppin 1-1, Mathurin 0-1, Siakam 0-2, Walker 0-2).
Rebounds: Milwaukee 53 (Antetokounmpo 20), Indiana 45 (Nesmith 12).
Assists: Milwaukee 25 (Antetokounmpo 13), Indiana 24 (Haliburton 9).
Total Fouls: Milwaukee 23, Indiana 19.
Attendance: 17,274 (20,000)
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