MILWAUKEE — Myles Turner scored 23 points and blocked four shots to lead the Pacers to a 129-103 win over the Bucks in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, giving the Pacers a 3-1 lead in the series and a chance to close the series out at home.
Game 5 will be 6 p.m., Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard scored 20 points. Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and 15 assists. Forward Aaron Nesmith had 14 points and forward Obi Toppin had 13. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Guard Kevin Porter Jr. had 23 points and six assists.
Here are three observations.
Myles Turner responded
Game 3 was one of the worst playoff performances of Myles Turner’s career, at least on paper. He made just 1-of-9 field goals, missed all six of his 3-point attempts, turned the ball over four times and managed just three rebounds and one block. The 3-point attempts he got were almost entirely wide open and some of them he missed badly. The Pacers were -15 in his minutes.
The 10th-year veteran wasn’t about to let that happen twice.
The Pacers were determined to get him involved out of the gate, hunting mismatches on switches or other scenarios where he was being defended by a smaller player. He had two buckets in the first 2:20 of the game and scored seven of the Pacers’ first nine points, surpassing Friday’s total in his first 3:06 on the floor.
And he kept making an impact from there at every turn. He was a big part of the reason the Pacers were able to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo as much as they have all series, holding him to just eight first-half points on 3-of-10 shooting. Turner wasn’t afraid of him on offense either, driving through him with a thunderous third quarter dunk. Turner finished with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting with five rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots.
Aaron Nesmith continues to bring it
Aaron Nesmith has quietly been one of the Pacers’ most important players in this series. Heading into Sunday’s action he was already averaging 13.7 points per game on 51.7% shooting including 56.3% from 3-point range (9-of-17) to go with 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He’s had to play defense on every level of player, taking on Bucks point guard Damian Lillard, wing Kyle Kuzma and giant forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetkounmpo caused him problems as he did for everyone else but he erased Kuzma in Game 1 and made life difficult for him and Lillard in Games 2 and 3.
On Sunday he was just as impactful. Again he was efficient on offense with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting including 2-of-5 from 3. He attacked off the bounce early and was fearless going to the rim. On defense, he was a big reason Kuzma finished with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting, and he fought Antetokounmpo as always, helping hold him to eight first-half points even though the two-time MVP got going later. And Nesmith arguably authored the most important play of the game for the Pacers.
With less than a minute to go in the third quarter and the Pacers up 13, Bucks forward Bobby Portis had a breakaway layup, but Nesmith chased him down, got well over the rim and pinned the ball off the glass. Nesmith came down hard and hurt is back, but Haliburton scored on the other end and drew a foul for a three-point play. The five-point swing helped the Pacers build a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, which was plenty enough for them to hold on to.
The Pacers were +26 in his 25 minutes.
Even with Bennedict Mathurin out, Pacers get huge night from the bench
Bennedict Mathurin’s abdominal contusion left the Pacers without their top scorer off the bench, but they got massive performances from their reserves who helped them hold on to the lead at key times when the Bucks were making a push.
The Bucks’ bench outscored the Pacers’ 60-43, but that was in part because the injury to Damian Lillard forced Kevin Porter Jr. into the first unit early and all of his buckets still counted as bench scoring. The Bucks’ group was ultimately more productive but the Pacers’ bench gave them exactly what they needed.
Point guard T.J. McConnell scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six assists, getting into the lane for key buckets and hitting an important second quarter 3-pointer.
Forward Jarace Walker scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all from 3-point range, and also provided some resistance on Antetokounpo.
Forward Obi Toppin scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, scoring at the rim and from outside as usual with three 3-pointers.
And guard Ben Shepaprd was quietly effective hitting a big 3s and also jamming up ball handlers and rotating to Bucks shooters for closeouts.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers beat Bucks in Game 4, take 3-1 series as Dame Lillard injured
MILWAUKEE — Myles Turner scored 23 points and blocked four shots to lead the Pacers to a 129-103 win over the Bucks in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs, giving the Pacers a 3-1 lead in the series and a chance to close the series out at home.
Game 5 will be 6 p.m., Tuesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard scored 20 points. Tyrese Haliburton had 17 points and 15 assists. Forward Aaron Nesmith had 14 points and forward Obi Toppin had 13. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 28 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. Guard Kevin Porter Jr. had 23 points and six assists.
Here are three observations.
Myles Turner responded
Game 3 was one of the worst playoff performances of Myles Turner’s career, at least on paper. He made just 1-of-9 field goals, missed all six of his 3-point attempts, turned the ball over four times and managed just three rebounds and one block. The 3-point attempts he got were almost entirely wide open and some of them he missed badly. The Pacers were -15 in his minutes.
The 10th-year veteran wasn’t about to let that happen twice.
The Pacers were determined to get him involved out of the gate, hunting mismatches on switches or other scenarios where he was being defended by a smaller player. He had two buckets in the first 2:20 of the game and scored seven of the Pacers’ first nine points, surpassing Friday’s total in his first 3:06 on the floor.
And he kept making an impact from there at every turn. He was a big part of the reason the Pacers were able to slow down Giannis Antetokounmpo as much as they have all series, holding him to just eight first-half points on 3-of-10 shooting. Turner wasn’t afraid of him on offense either, driving through him with a thunderous third quarter dunk. Turner finished with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting with five rebounds, three assists and four blocked shots.
Aaron Nesmith continues to bring it
Aaron Nesmith has quietly been one of the Pacers’ most important players in this series. Heading into Sunday’s action he was already averaging 13.7 points per game on 51.7% shooting including 56.3% from 3-point range (9-of-17) to go with 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game. He’s had to play defense on every level of player, taking on Bucks point guard Damian Lillard, wing Kyle Kuzma and giant forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Antetkounmpo caused him problems as he did for everyone else but he erased Kuzma in Game 1 and made life difficult for him and Lillard in Games 2 and 3.
On Sunday he was just as impactful. Again he was efficient on offense with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting including 2-of-5 from 3. He attacked off the bounce early and was fearless going to the rim. On defense, he was a big reason Kuzma finished with just three points on 1-of-6 shooting, and he fought Antetokounmpo as always, helping hold him to eight first-half points even though the two-time MVP got going later. And Nesmith arguably authored the most important play of the game for the Pacers.
With less than a minute to go in the third quarter and the Pacers up 13, Bucks forward Bobby Portis had a breakaway layup, but Nesmith chased him down, got well over the rim and pinned the ball off the glass. Nesmith came down hard and hurt is back, but Haliburton scored on the other end and drew a foul for a three-point play. The five-point swing helped the Pacers build a 17-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, which was plenty enough for them to hold on to.
The Pacers were +26 in his 25 minutes.
Even with Bennedict Mathurin out, Pacers get huge night from the bench
Bennedict Mathurin’s abdominal contusion left the Pacers without their top scorer off the bench, but they got massive performances from their reserves who helped them hold on to the lead at key times when the Bucks were making a push.
The Bucks’ bench outscored the Pacers’ 60-43, but that was in part because the injury to Damian Lillard forced Kevin Porter Jr. into the first unit early and all of his buckets still counted as bench scoring. The Bucks’ group was ultimately more productive but the Pacers’ bench gave them exactly what they needed.
Point guard T.J. McConnell scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting with six assists, getting into the lane for key buckets and hitting an important second quarter 3-pointer.
Forward Jarace Walker scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting, all from 3-point range, and also provided some resistance on Antetokounpo.
Forward Obi Toppin scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, scoring at the rim and from outside as usual with three 3-pointers.
And guard Ben Shepaprd was quietly effective hitting a big 3s and also jamming up ball handlers and rotating to Bucks shooters for closeouts.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers beat Bucks in Game 4, take 3-1 series as Dame Lillard injured
