The Indiana Pacers are in the driver’s seat of their first-round matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, improving their series lead to 2-0 with a 123-115 win over the Bucks in Game 2 of the series. The Pacers successfully defended home-court advantage and will now be heading to Milwaukee for Games 3 and 4 of the series.
Their star duo led them to this win, with Pascal Siakam putting up 24 points (8-16 FG) and 11 rebounds while Tyrese Haliburton had 21 points (8-19 FG) and 12 assists. Production was great across the roster, as Andrew Nembhard had 17 points (6-10 FG), Aaron Nesmith had 16 points (5-9 FG), and Myles Turner had 15 points (6-10 FG). Bennedict Mathurin came off the bench for 14 points (4-10 FG).
The Pacers had great team-wide production, but the Bucks were reliant on two players carrying them. Giannis Antetokounmpo ended the night with 34 points (14-20 FG), 18 rebounds, and seven assists, while Bobby Portis dropped a fantastic 28 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. Damian Lillard had a paltry 14 points (4-13 FG) and seven assists, while Kyle Kuzma had 12 points (5-10 FG).
Let’s analyze the major takeaways from this clash.
A Red-Hot Shooting Night
This was an extremely compelling Playoff game between the East’s No. 4 and No. 5 seeds. The action was back-and-forth with both teams shooting at a high clip, which made the game that much more compelling. The margins of tonight’s Indiana win were extremely thin, as either team could’ve left the game as the victor.
The Pacers went 44-90 (48.9 FG%) from the field and 16-36 (44.4 3P%) from three-point range in an efficient outing. They also went 19-19 (100 FT%) from the free throw line, maximizing every extra point they could generate in what wound up being a narrow win. The Bucks went 44-87 (50.6 FG%) from the field and 14-35 (40.0 3P%) from three, but shot a poor 13-19 (68.4 FT%) from the free throw line.
The Bucks’ failing to be ultra-efficient with free throw attempts and making two fewer three-pointers than the Pacers would ultimately explain why they failed to pull this win off. Losing this game despite an above-average shooting performance from the squad has to be gutting and demoralizing ahead of the series heading to Milwaukee.
No Support For Giannis Antetokounmpo
Through the first two games of this series, Giannis is averaging xxx. He didn’t have Damian Lillard by his side for Game 1 and saw his other co-star, Kyle Kuzma, make 0 statistical contributions in 21 minutes of action. Having Dame back and Kuzma’s improved performance couldn’t help Giannis at all against an extremely well-balanced Pacers squad.
This has been the story of Giannis’ season. He’s put up ridiculous enough stats to finish top three in MVP again despite his team being a No. 5 seed that nobody believes is even a remote championship contender this season. Forget contention, it looks increasingly likely the Bucks and Giannis will fall victim to a third straight first-round Playoff exit.
The Bucks have exhausted their resources to put this team together. If they can’t even challenge a team like the Pacers in a Playoff series, the space to continue adjusting the roster around Giannis instead of tearing it down dwindles. If we see Giannis having to single-handedly carry them to another first-round exit, it might be time for the Greek star to look at a potential new NBA destination for the first time in his career.
Pacers’ Offense Is Too Potent To Consistently Stop
We have seen seven instances of teams having a score below 100 points in the 2025 Playoffs already, once again reinforcing how much stronger defenses get in the postseason. That doesn’t seem to affect the Pacers, who have scored 240 points through their first two games this series against the Bucks.
Milwaukee had a coherent defensive system all season long, anchored by Giannis and Brook Lopez as the bigs, alongside defensive-minded players like Andre Jackson Jr. and Taurean Prince providing big minutes. Jackson hasn’t been in the team’s rotation for a while now, but even giving him minutes won’t hurt what seems to be an extremely efficient offensive identity for the Pacers.
Tyrese Haliburton might get called overrated, but he’s the perfect floor-setter for this Pacers squad, who have six players who can be legitimate high-volume scorers from game to game. Haliburton channeled everyone’s powers in the best way today to execute this efficient win.
