Bucks vs Pacers
The NBA playoffs continue to be in full swing, with the Bucks at home and the Pacers facing off in Series 1. In this game, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Galloway, and Mathurin missed the game due to injury. Beverley, Lillard and Middleton started alongside Portis and Brook Lopez, while the Pacers started Haliburton, Siakam, Nembhard, Turner and Nesmith. The two teams met in the regular season with the Pacers 4-1 against the Bucks, with Indiana being the favourites to win the series. However, in the absence of Brother Alphabet, Lillard and Mishen showed a strong instant combat power.
Lillard 35+6 broke the record, the Bucks beat the Pacers!Mishen 23+10, Siakam 36+14!
Full game review
At the beginning of the first quarter, the two teams made consecutive long-range shots after the opening, and Siakam and Middleton each scored from mid-range to break the deadlock. Turner, Nesmith, Lillard, and Da Lo each scored points on layups, Lillard made all three free throws, and Haliburton scored on a layup. Lillard hit an outside shot, and a layup to score points, and Turner made 1 of 2 free throws before being blocked by Da Luo. Siakam scored four straight points and Doug Rivers called a timeout.
Lillard singled Turner
Lillard scored 6 points with free throws, Siakam and McConnell hit the inside to score 2 goals and also colored, Haliburton and Beasley hit each other in the middle and long range, and Connaughton scored 3+1. Smith dunked and Lillard hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer. At the end of the first quarter, the Bucks led 30-21, and Lillard scored 19 points in a single quarter.
In the second quarter, Middleton hit all 2 free throws, Portis dunked, Siakam scored singles, Portis scored 6 points in a row in the low post, and the Pacers hit iron and mistakes on the outside line in a row. Middleton and Crowder scored layups one after another, and the Bucks led by 21 points. Turner teamed up with Siakam to score six points on a smashing basket to break the deadlock, and Lillard responded with two three-pointers. Big Lo blocked Turner, Beverley scored in the box, and Middleton and Lillard continued to struggle from mid-to-long range.
Lillard forced the basket
Carlisle asked for a timeout, Lillard scored a layup, Siakam hit a three-pointer, Da Luo and Nembhard shot from a distance, Lillard hit a 2+1, and the Bucks took a 30-point lead. Siakam made 2 free throws, Connaughton scored in the box, Haliburton scored from the outside, Lillard made 2 free throws, and Siakam threw in to score. At halftime, the Bucks led 69-42 and the Pacers trailed 21-39 in the quarter.
In the first half, Lillard had 35 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, Middleton had 8 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, Portis had 8 points and 5 boards, Da Luo had 5 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks, Beverley had 2 points and 5 boards, and Connaughton had 6 points. Siakam had 19 points and 5 boards, Nesmith had 2 points and 4 boards, Turner had 7 points and 5 boards, Nembhard had 3 points, and Haliburton had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists.
Beverley defends Haliburton
In the rematch, Nesmith hit an outside shot, Siakam hit a 2+0 after a steal, Middleton scored from mid-range, and Turner hit 2 free throws. Siakam and Portis hit a mid-range shot, Turner hit a three-pointer, Portis scored on a high jumper, and Siakam hit a layup. Da Luo dunked, Siakam and Mishen fought in the middle distance, and Connaughton and Middleton each had layups.
Da Luo sent out a big hat, Turner and Mishen each scored points, Haliburton dunked, and Smith hit 2 free throws. Shepard scored from the outside, McConnell scored on a layup, the Pacers went on a 9-0 run, and the Bucks missed consecutive three-pointers and fell into a three-minute scoring drought. At the end of the third quarter, the Pacers trailed 71-83 and the Bucks trailed 14-29 in the first quarter.
Middleton defends Siakam
In the final quarter, Mishen scored a three-pointer, McConnell scored a layup, and Portis scored 2+1. Toppin scored in the low post, Middleton hit all 2 free throws, McConnell hit the inside to score, Beasley and Crowder made difficulties from the outside one after another, and Mishen scored from mid-range, and the Bucks regained a 22-point lead. The Pacers' perimeter offense went out again, and Siakam scored on a mid-range shot to break the deadlock.
Beasley hit a three-pointer, Turner and Siakam hit outside shots one after another, and Lao Li asked for a timeout. Siakam hit 2 free throws, Nembhard hit 2+1, and the difference came to 14 points. Beverley hit a three-pointer, Siakam hit the inside to score, Da Lo scored on a throw, and then dunked Nesmith. Siakam and Nesmith responded with four points under the basket, and the two sides made consecutive errors and missed shots, and the game ran out. In the end, the Bucks won 109-94 and took a 1-0 lead.
Brooke Lopez sequesters inside Smith
Haliburton's playoff debut had 9 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists and 3 turnovers. Nesmith had 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Turner had 17 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals, Nembhard had 6 points and 3 assists, and McConaughey had 10 points.
Portis scored 15 points and 11 rebounds with a double-double and left the court with 6 fouls, showing a strong desire to win. Da Luo had 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 hats, and he went on a rampage in the final quarter, with a full sense of presence at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends. Beverley showed his all-around skills with 5 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals, and handed out the most assists in the game. Beasley had 9 points and 4 boards, and Connaughton had 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 steals.
The Bucks beat the Pacers to take a 1-0 lead
Lillard smashed the record with 35+6
Damian Lillard, the superstar of the Bucks' backcourt, played an excellent performance in this game. Lillard played 37 minutes, shooting 11-of-24, 6-of-11 from three-point range, 7-of-7 from the free-throw line, and 35 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Lillard scored a team-high 46 percent from the field and hit a game-high six 3-pointers. Lillard, who focused on cutting points, scored 35 points in the first half (19 in the first quarter and 16 in the second). In the second half, the opponent was crazy and trapped, and Lillard did not score on 0-of-5 shooting. However, Lillard used his strong offensive containment to create plenty of easy scoring opportunities for his teammates. Lillard, who went berserk in the first half, led the team to expand the margin to 30 points, paving the way for the Bucks to win.
Lillard plays offense with the ball
In addition, Lillard also broke the record in this fight. The 1st and 35th points set a new record for Lillard's playoff career half-time high, up from 34 points (2019 Trail Blazers vs. Thunder G5). The 2nd and 35th points also tied the second-highest halftime score in NBA history (since 1997), and the highest halftime score in NBA history was 38 points in the first half of the Warriors against the Clippers Kevin Durant in 19.
The 3rd and 35th points also set the second-highest scores for a playoff debut in Bucks history, topping Abdul-Jabbar and Gary Brockau's 36 points.
Damian Lillard
Fourth, Lillard scored 35 points in the first half and didn't score in the second half. Statistically, Lillard set the record for the highest number of points scored in the second half of the NBA (the league has counted single quarters and half-court points since the 1996-97 season). The previous record was held by Booker, who scored 31 points in the first half and 0 points in the second half on April 20, 2022.
Mishen 23+10
Bucks forward giant Chris Middleton broke out in this game. Mishen played 35 minutes, shooting 9-of-14, 1-of-4 from three-point range, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line, with a double-double of 23 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 block. Mishen scored the second-highest score on the team with a 64% shooting rate, and he scored 15 points in the second half, taking over the offensive banner from Lillard's hands and leading the team to withstand the opponent's crazy comeback.
Middleton hits the basket
Middleton's rebounding and assists statistics are second on the team. Mishen showed all-round skills, his plus/minus was still a game-high +25, and his performance was amazing and perfect.
Siakam 36+14
Siakam, the Pacers' forward giant, played an all-around performance in this game. Siakam played 40 minutes, shooting 15-of-25, 1-of-4 from three-point range and 5-of-10 from the free-throw line to record a double-double of 36 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 blocks. Siakam shot a game-high 60 percent from the field, and he was also the rebounding leader and the team's block leader.
Middleton, Portis and Siakam
Siakam had done his best, but most of his teammates were making the playoffs for the first time and seemed inexperienced, which made Siakam's all-game efforts come to naught.