On April 24, Beijing time, the first round of the NBA playoffs G2 continued. In the games that ended before, the top four in the East and West have not lost, the Nuggets (2-0 lead over the Lakers), the Cavaliers (2-0 lead over the Magic), the Timberwolves (2-0 lead over the Suns), the Knicks (2-0 lead) 76ers, the suspense of these four groups of series matchups is gone, except for the Knicks and the 76ers, the other three groups are dimensionality reduction blows, especially the Nuggets and the Timberwolves, as soon as the intensity is mentioned, the Lakers and the Suns cannot match, and it has indeed reached the stage of changing the dynasty. The Eastern Conference is in focus, with the Bucks hosting the Pacers. In the G1 game two days ago, the Bucks defeated the Pacers 109-94, and Lillard scored 35 points in the first half and 0 points in the second half, but fortunately, the advantage was large enough. But the Bucks had bad news again before the game: Brother Alphabet still couldn't play.
According to the analysis of sports medicine experts, Brother Alphabet only has the theoretical possibility of a first-round comeback. Previously, Charania revealed that Brother Alphabet needs 2-4 weeks to recover, and after this game, it has actually been a full 2 weeks, but the Bucks are very cautious about Brother Alphabet's injury, unless the Pacers push the Bucks into a corner. The Pacers averaged 123.3 points per game in the league and second in the league in offensive efficiency of 120.5 in the regular season, but their defense is at the bottom of the league, and they also rely on their touch to play against offense. And Haliburton's first playoff journey in his career, there is a clear lack of experience in controlling the rhythm of the court, and Sika is under a lot of pressure on the offensive end. Pacers starters: Haliburton + Nembhard + Nesmith + Sika + Turner.
Bucks starters: Lillard + Beverley + Middleton + Portis + Lopez. In the opening game, Lopez and Lillard rained three-pointers, Turner jumped, Haliburton and Sika responded with three points, but Lillard kept making fouls, and then combined with Lopez to hit three-pointers, and the Pacers struggled very defensively. After the Bucks opened an eight-point gap, Nembhard and Turner hit the basket, Shepherd and Toppin led the Pacers to the bench to overtake, and at the end of the quarter, Lillard had to stop the bleeding with a three-pointer, and the Pacers led the Bucks 30-26 in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Toppin and Sika blossomed inside and out, Lillard had no misses, Portis was tough on a layup, and Haliburton made a three-pointer to stop the bleeding in time.
In the middle of the quarter, Da Luo and Lillard threw three points from the outside, but Nesmith and Sika were hot, and the two teams were tied repeatedly, and Nembhard and Sika continued to shoot from the outside at the end of the quarter, and the Pacers led the Bucks 60-55 at halftime. Lillard scored 26 points in the first half, and Sika scored 21 points and 7 rebounds! In the middle of the game, Nembhard and Beverley clashed, Nembhard had a provocative move and ate technical fouls! In the second half, Portis and Middleton continued to attack alone, Lillard made a kill + broke through the basket, and at the critical moment, Turner and Sika finished inside to stop the bleeding.
At the end of the third quarter, the Pacers led the Bucks 92-83. In the fourth quarter of the decisive battle, Connaughton and Middleton continued to chase points, but Sika led the team to play an 8-0 climax, instantly opening up a 12-point difference! In the middle of the game, Turner continued to shoot outside, and then hit a jumper, Sika went down to a layup + Turner's three-pointer, stretching the difference to 20 points! Da Luo and Beverley scored 5 points in a row to stop the bleeding, but Haliburton's three-point shot responded ruthlessly, after which Rivers Sr. disarmed and surrendered, and the game entered garbage time! In the end, the Bucks lost 108-125 to the Pacers at home, and the score was tied 1-1, which was also the first group of 1-1 in the playoffs this season!
Pacers statistics, Haliburton 12 points, 4 rebounds and 12 assists, Nembhard 20 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists, Sika 37 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists, Turner 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, Nesmith 11 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Bucks statistics, Lillard 34 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, Da Lopez 22 points and 1 rebound, Portis 14 points and 11 rebounds, Middleton 15 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, Beverley 5 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks.
Throughout the game, although Lillard scored in the second half today, he lost by 24 points when he was on the floor, and one Beverley couldn't help, and the height of these two was obviously not enough, and the Pacers could shoot three-pointers from the outside unscrupulously. In addition, when the Pacers played a few highs in the fourth quarter, the timing of the timeout was too poor to allow Sika and Turner to burst inside and outside as if they were in a no-man's land, including the strange lineup configuration of the four guards in the transition period, and he is indeed to blame. In the final analysis, Brother Alphabet is not there, and the Bucks lack interior lethality, relying only on shooting, and the stability is obviously not enough. Maybe Brother Alphabet is really going to return early with an injury.