In an absolute heartbreak of a game that saw Damian Lillard suffer an apparent achilles injury, the Milwaukee Bucks crumbled at home to the Indiana Pacers, 129-103. They’re now on life support as the series shifts back to Indiana.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 28 points served as the game high while Myles Turner’s 23 points was the team-high for the Pacers.
Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast Bucks In Six Minutes below.
What Did We Learn?
For the fourth consecutive year, the injury bug has gotten the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs. Milwaukee was dealt a devastating blow when Damian Lillard collapsed to the ground and immediately grabbed his left ankle, forcing many to anticipate it being an achilles injury. Per Chris Haynes, that is the expectation of what the injury will be ruled as. I’ll keep the doom and gloom past this season for future possible pieces, but it seems as if this was truly the dagger in the series. Everything is now stacked up against the Bucks. Without Dame going into a raucous Indiana environment that’s on verge to advance, they’re going to need to have a perfect game.
Three Observations
The Pacers always had an answer.
Much like the theme of this series, Indiana seemed to make everything. The Bucks would attempt to land numerous punches following Dame’s departure, but the Pacers just shook everything off. On the night, they shot 50/83 from the floor, good for a 60.2%. The Fiserv Forum crowd gave it their all in trying to bring forth energy in an impossible situation. It’s easy to think about the future in that moment and I’m sure a lot of them were. However, the surges that the Bucks were able to create were met with raucous roars. Unfortunately for the Bucks, Indiana’s shot-making was just too much to overcome.
Indiana’s 3-point shooting was superb.
Up and down the Pacers’ roster, you saw efficiency from the perimeter. Numerous players hit multiple threes and contributions from the bench in that department helped them surge offensively. All in all, the Pacers shot 18/39 in that area for a percentage of 46.2. As I mentioned above, it truly seemed as if they always had an answer set for whenever the Bucks made a run. Jarace Walker and Obi Toppin were massive off the bench for them. Toppin sank several threes while Walker buried four. It’s tough to win a playoff game in those situations.
Everybody was down in postgame availability.
From Doc Rivers to Kevin Porter Jr., everyone knew the severity of the injury. Doc skated around by saying there’s officially going to be imaging done in the morning, but he knew the severity of it. He went on to discuss just how bad it is to see this happen to a guy as good as him. KPJ spoke to the importance Dame has provided to him both on and off the court. Everyone knew just how serious this was and what it could mean for not just Dame himself, but the Bucks moving forward. I don’t know if I’ve seen a situation as gloomy and somber as this in my time covering the team.
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Kyle Kuzma continued to struggle for the Bucks. He was only able to muster up three points on 1/6 shooting. At times, he looked out of control, especially on the fastbreak. It’s been an absolutely brutal series for him.
- The consistent and balanced scoring of the Pacers killed the Bucks. All five of their starters reached double figures, along with three reserves. On the other side, the Bucks had just one starter and two bench guys reach that mark. Yikes.
- The Pacers were without Bennedict Mathurin for this one. He had gotten kneed in the abdominal section by Giannis in Game 3. However, they obviously didn’t need him, as they instead won with relative ease.
- Gary Trent Jr. was unable to produce the same magic he put forth in Game 3. In 32 minutes of action, he was only able to corral six points on 2/6 shooting.
- AJ Green had a nice outing off the bench, connecting on several threes. If Milwaukee’s going to have any chance of extending this series Tuesday night, he’s going to need to have a productive night from the floor.
Up Next
The series now shifts back to Indianapolis for Game 5 for a do or die for the Bucks, which will be on Tuesday at 5 p.m. CST. The national broadcast has yet to be announced, but you can catch the action on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin as well as on our Playback and YouTube channels.
