by Wheat Hotchkiss
MILWAUKEE — In his pregame press conference ahead of Game 1 on Sunday night in Milwaukee, Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle was asked how the Bucks being without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo impacted the Pacers’ defensive schemes, knowing that Milwaukee would rely more heavily on eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard.
“When you have one superstar out, you’re just getting a much bigger dose of the other superstar,” Carlisle said. “It’s not that big a bargain really.”
Carlisle’s words rang true on Sunday night, as Lillard exploded for 35 points in the first half, propelling Milwaukee to a 27-point halftime lead en route to a 109-94 Bucks victory in their best-of-seven first round series.
The 33-year-old who entered the night with 61 games of playoff experience under his belt had his way over the first two quarters, going 11-for-19 from the field, 6-for-10 from 3-point range, and 7-for-7 from the free throw line in 19 first-half minutes.
The Pacers, meanwhile, struggled both to contain Lillard on the defensive end and to find any sort of rhythm on the other. They missed their first 13 3-point attempts, shot 35.6 percent from the field, and turned the ball over eight times.
Pascal Siakam — the Pacer with the most postseason experience — tallied 19 points in the first half on 7-of-13 shooting. But the rest of his teammates managed just 23 points while going 9-for-32 from the field (28.1 percent).
“They looked like the experienced team and we looked inexperienced,” Carlisle said. “That led to a lot of the problems early. The playoffs — you can talk about how different it is, but actually experiencing it is another thing.”
Indiana did manage to respond after halftime. They held Lillard scoreless in the second half (0-for-5 shooting) and outscored the Bucks 52-40 over the final two quarter, including 29-14 in the third quarter. They closed the third with a 13-2 run to get back within 12 before Milwaukee closed the door on any comeback hopes, pushing the margin back to 20 with under nine minutes to play following back-to-back threes from Jae Crowder and Malik Beasley.
But the damage was done in the first half, a half that Carlisle described as “embarrassing” and “ugly.”
Lillard got off to a hot start, scoring 16 of Milwaukee’s first 20 points. Still, the Pacers were essentially even with the Bucks with under two minutes to play in the first quarter after All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton’s jumper made it a 20-19 game with 1:55 remaining.
But Lillard closed the frame with a flurry.
He drove and kicked to Malik Beasley for a corner three at 1:26, then found Pat Connaughton in the same spot 20 seconds later (not only did Connaughton make the shot, he was fouled by rookie Ben Sheppard and hit the ensuing free throw for a four-point play). Then, after an Obi Toppin layup, Lillard let the seconds tick down before unleashing a step-back three from nearly 30 feet away that swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, sending Fiserv Forum into a frenzy.
Things went from bad to worse for the Blue and Gold in the second quarter, as the Bucks opened the ensuing frame with a 14-2 run with Lillard on the bench. Bobby Portis — starting at power forward in place of Antetokounmpo — scored eight straight during that stretch.
After a 5-0 mini-run from Indiana, Lillard checked back in and scored 10 points during another 14-1 surge from Milwaukee. He capped that sequence with a layup that made it 58-29 with 3:02 remaining in the first half. Lillard alone had 27 points by that point, nearly outscoring the Pacers by himself.
“This is a great building, they’ve got great fans, they understood what this game meant,” Carlisle said. “Give them credit for how they played in the first half. But we were very poor and obviously have got to be way, way better.”
The Bucks may have been without one of the world’s greatest players on Sunday (Antetokounmpo was listed as doubtful and officially ruled out a couple hours before Game 1 with a left soleus strain), but they had the luxury of turning the keys over to another future Hall of Famer in his absence.
Moreover, they had something else the Pacers collectively didn’t — significant playoff experience.
Lillard’s 61 career playoff games entering Sunday actually were the sixth-most of the Bucks players who saw the floor in Game 1. Crowder had 111 career postseason games under his belt, while Brook Lopez, Connaughton, and Khris Middleton — all members of Milwaukee’s 2020-21 NBA championship team — entered the night having played 78, 77, and 74 career playoff games, respectively. Patrick Beverley had played in 65 postseason games, Portis 43, and Malik Beasley 31.
Meanwhile for the Pacers, Siakam had played in 53 career playoff games (24 during Toronto’s run to an NBA title in 2018-19), but ninth-year center Myles Turner was second in career playoff games with 26. Haliburton, the Pacers’ star guard and already a two-time All-Star at age 24, was making his playoff debut on Sunday.
Turner said afterwards that the Pacers “got jumped into the playoffs.”
“We have a young group that hasn’t really experienced this level,” Turner said. “But a lot of it is on our leaders, the guys who have been here before. When you’re in the playoffs on the road, you have to come out with a certain intensity and a certain attention to detail.”
After the loss, the Pacers were certainly concerned with their struggles to contain Lillard (“He’s a great player, made a lot of crazy shots but that’s what we does,” Haliburton said), but more frustrated by their offensive struggles in the first half.
They simply couldn’t get a three to fall almost all the way up until halftime. Turner finally made a trey with 2:55 remaining in the second quarter on Indiana’s 14th attempt from beyond the arc.
To a man, they all said afterwards that they felt like they had some good looks that didn’t go in, but also agreed that their ball movement was not up to par.
“We just didn’t do enough offensively,” Haliburton said. “Didn’t run enough. I thought we did a bad job of getting into the paint, getting the ball moving. I felt like we were a one-action team in the first half offensively.”
Even with an improved effort in the second half, the Pacers finished with just 94 points, their lowest point total of the season. They averaged 123.3 points per game in the regular season, not only the most in the NBA but the sixth-highest scoring average in league history. In five games against Milwaukee in the regular season (albeit all of them played Jan. 3 or earlier), they averaged 128.8 points.
But defensive intensity typically picks up in the postseason, a lesson Indiana learned the hard way on Sunday.
“They controlled the pace all night,” Haliburton said. “And that hasn’t been the story when we played these guys. Kudos to them.”
As one might expect, the Bucks focused a lot of their defensive attention on Haliburton, trying to take the ball out of the hands of Indiana’s star. He took just seven shots, going 4-for-7 from the field, and finishing with nine points, eight assists, and seven rebounds.
Two of those attempts came in the final minute with the game already well in hand.
Turner said that after the game he huddled with Siakam and Haliburton to discuss ways they can get Haliburton more looks moving forward in the series.
“Ty played the right way,” Siakam said. “They put a lot of attention on him. It’s a lot on him. Every possession down the floor, it feels like he’s doubled.
“He’s going to find his way. I think for me, it’s just try to find ways to get him open, get him a couple open shots, we’ve got to do a better job of that. But again, they’re sending everything at him.”
Haliburton, meanwhile, was succinct in his self-assessment, saying, “I’ve just got to be better. And I will on Tuesday.”
With so much attention on Haliburton, Siakam was able to have a very productive evening. He finished with 36 points on 15-of-25 shooting, a new playoff career high. Only six players in franchise history have ever scored more in a playoff game (Reggie Miller, Anthony Johnson, Chuck Person, Jalen Rose, Paul George, and Jermaine O’Neal).
But for the Pacers to be victorious in this series, they’ll need other players to step up offensively. Turner scored 17 but took 17 shots, while T.J. McConnell had 10 points off the bench but on 13 attempts. No other Pacer reached double figures.
“Pascal’s a great player,” Carlisle said. “That’s why we traded for him. We’ve just got to make sure that we’re doing the things that our team needs to do to create a balance as well as we can.”
In addition to his scoring prowess, Siakam was also able to provide his teammates with some sage wisdom on Sunday. As frustrating as the initial loss was, the Pacers can still steal back homecourt advantage in the series with a victory on Tuesday in Game 2.
“They won Game 1,” Siakam said. “We’ve got to move on, go back, learn from it, watch film, adjust, and come back and lay it all out on the floor. At the end of the day, no matter what the score was, it’s still one game.”
Originally posted on pacers.com