Pacers Charge Back To Edge Bucks In OT Thriller; Cavs Up Next

The Indiana Pacers performed some minor basketball miracles on Tuesday night. Or maybe they were major miracles.

Either way, the Pacers somehow, someway defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 119-118 in overtime, in Game 5 of their first-round series. That bounced the Bucks from the first round and moved Indy into the second round.

The Pacers will face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who easily swept the Miami Heat in Round One. Game 1 of the second round is expected to take place either Saturday or Sunday at Cleveland’s Rocket Arena.

For a while, it looked as if Milwaukee would extend the series, sprinting to a 14-5 run at the start of overtime. But then the Pacers began to chip away, mostly behind some serious drives and finishes by Tyrese Haliburton, with an Andrew Nembhard long-distance 3-pointer sprinkled in.

The excitement got really good when the Bucks’ advantage was cut to 118-117 with 17 seconds to go in OT. But they had the ball and all they really had to do was dribble out the clock or make some free throws.

Dribbling, however, became an issue, as Milwaukee guard Gary Trent Jr. bobbled a low pass and bounced the ball off his foot … and out of bounds … with a little more than 10 seconds left.

Haliburton drove past his man, got in the lane, an extended for the layup. With just 1.3 seconds to go and the Bucks without any timeouts, that proved to be the winner.

Haliburton struggled from the perimeter but still managed 26 points (and nine assists), making every big basket when it mattered. Myles Turner added 21 points and nine rebounds.

Trent was otherwise fantastic, pacing the Bucks with 33 points on some deadeye shooting from beyond the arc late in the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo erupted for 30 points and 20 boards for the Damian Lillard-less Bucks in another valiant effort.

Some have wondered whether that will serve as Antetokoumpo’s last game with Milwaukee, or if he’ll give it another run with a team that won the title in 2021, but has lost in the first round three straight times since.

For the Bucks, plenty of questions remain. For the Pacers, it’s on to the next. Somehow, someway.