Pacers upset Bucks as Milwaukee missing Giannis Antetokounmpo

Pascal Siakam (Google Images)

The Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 125-108 on Tuesday to tie their Eastern Conference first round playoff series at one game apiece. After the home team won the first dozen games of the 2024 NBA playoffs, the Pacers bounced back with a big 17-point win on the road. In fact, the Pacers were one of two road teams to win on Tuesday. The other was the Dallas Mavericks, who beat the Los Angeles Clippers 96-93. Dallas also tied their opening round series at one game apiece.

In the Pacers win, it was very clear the Bucks were missing their star player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has missed the first two games of the series with a calf injury. Even though center Brook Lopez provides Milwaukee with a strong presence offensively and defensively, he is simply not Antetokounmpo, who is a two-time NBA MVP.

On Tuesday, the Pacers were led by power forward Pascal Siakam of Douala, Cameroon. Siakam, who joined Indiana from the Toronto Raptors on January 17 in a trade, had 37 points and 11 rebounds for the double-double. He was one of five Pacers starters to reach double digits in scoring. The other four were center Myles Turner of Bedford, Texas (22 points), Canadian shooting guard Andrew Nembhard of Aurora, Ontario (20 points), point guard Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh, Wisconsin (12 points and 12 assists for the double-double), and small forward Aaron Nesmith of Charleston, South Carolina.

The Mavericks meanwhile had four players who reached double digits in scoring. Point guard Luka Doncic of Ljubljana, Slovenia had 32 points, shooting guard Kyrie Irving of Melbourne, Australia had 23 points, power forward P.J. Washington of Louisville, Kentucky had 18 points, and small forward Derrick Jones Jr. of Chester, Pennsylvania had 10 points.