On May 3, the first round of the NBA playoffs continued. The Indiana Pacers are back at home for Game 6 of the series against the Milwaukee Bucks. In this game, Lillard came back to save, and the Pacers led all the way from the first quarter. In the end, the Pacers defeated the Bucks 120-98, eliminated the opponent 4-2 in the series, and successfully advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Bucks: Lillard 28 points and 4 assists, Portis 20 points and 15 rebounds, Lopez 20 points and 5 rebounds, Middleton 14 points and 8 rebounds.
Pacers: Haliburton 17 points, 6 rebounds and 10 assists, Siakam 19 points and 7 rebounds, Nesmith 15 points, Nembhard 14 points, Toppin 21 points and 8 rebounds, McConaughey 20 points and 9 assists.
In the first quarter, the Bucks started the game 10-3, Haliburton hit a three-pointer, and the Pacers gradually got into the groove, and a wave of 8-1 helped the Pacers chase down 14 at the halfway point of the first quarter. In the second half, the Pacers went on a 13-2 run to stretch it to a double-digit deficit at 29-19. At the end of the first quarter, the Pacers led 33-24.
In the second quarter, Lillard's three-point shot and Middleton's 2+1 once helped the Bucks chase 32-35 with only a 3-point difference. Nesmith made a three-pointer to help the Pacers stabilize the situation, and then they went on another 7-0 run to stretch the deficit to more than 10 points. The two sides went back and forth in the second half, and the Pacers maintained a lead of about 10 points, and the Pacers led the Bucks 59-47 at halftime.
At the beginning of the third quarter, Lillard led the Bucks to 56-63 with only a seven-point difference. Siakam scored five straight points and Toppin hit a three-pointer to give the Pacers a 71-58 lead at 7:43. In the second half, the Bucks once again stubbornly chased down the seven-point gap, and the Pacers scored eight consecutive points in the final one minute to take a 93-78 lead to 15 points.
Shepard hit a three-pointer with 8:07 left in the final quarter to give the 104-84 Pacers lead to 20 points. Lillard's three-pointer helped the Bucks trail 91-108 at 6:23, but the Pacers scored four straight points after that, and the gap stretched to more than 20 points again. In the last two and a half minutes, the two sides withdrew their main forces, and the game entered garbage time early. In the end, the game was over, and the Pacers defeated the Bucks 120-98.