Pascal Siakam finished with 25 points and seven rebounds and Tyrese Haliburton added 10 points and 12 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Milwaukee Bucks, 117-98, for a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first-round series on Saturday.
Indiana led by as much as 28 and fended off a charge that got the Bucks within 12 midway through the third quarter by holding the Bucks to only three points over the final 5:24. Myles Turner’s 3-pointer with 1:59 sealed the win. Turner had 19 points and four blocks.
Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 36 points and 12 rebounds, but the Pacers held him to just one assist in a rematch of last year’s opening round series, which Indiana won 4-2. Antetokounmpo missed all six of those games with a calf injury.
AJ Green scored 15 and the only other Bucks to reach double figures were Gary Trent Jr. with 14 and Kevin Porter Jr. with 12. Bucks All-Star guard Damian Lillard sat out as he continues to work his way back from deep vein thrombosis in his calf.
Indiana held Milwaukee, which shot a league-best 38.7% on 3-pointers, to just 2 of 16 in the first half and finished 9 of 37. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle threw an assortment of defenses at Antetokounmpo, who had 24 points over the final three quarters after scoring 12 in his first quarter of playoff action since 2023.
The Pacers took charge with an 11-3 spurt late in the first half, extending the lead to 60-43.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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