Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishBy Bob Harkins, Eric Nehm and James BoydThe Indiana Pacers entered these playoffs with home-court advantage for the first time since 2014. On Saturday, they showed just how important that could be.The No. 4 seed Pacers rolled out to a 67-43 halftime lead over the No. 5 seed Milwaukee Bucks and never looked back, cruising to a 117-98 victory and taking a 1-0 lead in their first-round series.Gainbridge Fieldhouse has proven to be a difficult place for any opponent to visit. Indiana went 29-11 at home during the 2024-25 regular season and 6-0 there through the first two rounds of last season’s playoffs.Saturday’s game was essentially over by halftime, with the Pacers holding a 67-43 edge at the break. Andrew Nembhard and Pascal Siakam were the early catalysts, combining to score 27 points before the break on 12-for-15 shooting. Indiana shot 61 percent as a team in the first half, including 41.2 percent from 3-point range and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Watch as Haliburton directs Siakam to the corner… pulls the defense into the middle… then hits Siakam for the open 3. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/6VjpHmFsPJ
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2025The Bucks were without star guard Damian Lillard, who missed the final 14 games of the regular season due to blood clots in his leg. Lillard is no longer taking blood-thinning medication and could potentially return to action in this series.Without Lillard, the Bucks were led by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who scored 36 points. The Pacers had five players in double figures, led by Siakam’s 25 points.In other first-round action Saturday, the LA Clippers play at the Denver Nuggets (live now on ESPN), the Detroit Pistons visit the New York Knicks (6 p.m. ET on ESPN) and the Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Lakers in Los Angeles (8:30 p.m. ET on ABC).Pacers 117, Bucks 98Pacers make Giannis work for every pointAntetokounmpo exploded toward the rim in the third quarter of Saturday’s playoff opener, as he had several times while racking up points in the paint. This time, though, Pacers center Myles Turner wasn’t having it. When Antetokounmpo attempted to shoot, Turner got two hands on the ball for the block and forced a jump ball. The home crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse erupted as Turner temporarily preserved his team’s 25-point lead en route to the convincing victory. Antetokounmpo still finished with a game-high 36 points, but Indiana made it tough on him by throwing several bodies at the two-time league MVP, who drew several fouls, yet finished 8-for-15 at the free-throw line.The Pacers also contained Antetokounmpo’s playmaking by double-teaming him and desperately closing out on shooters whenever he swung the ball. Antetokounmpo entered Game 1 averaging 10.4 assists over his last 10 regular-season games, but he was limited to just one assist and five turnovers Saturday. Milwaukee showed some life in the fourth quarter by knocking down four 3-pointers to cut Indiana’s lead to 12, but the Bucks shot just 9-for-36 on 3-point attempts (25.0%) overall, which was their third-lowest mark in any game this season. — James Boyd
THIS PLAY FROM MYLES TURNER TO FORCE A JUMP💪🔐 pic.twitter.com/OtAkUkB9AW
— NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2025Mathurin’s playoff debutBennedict Mathurin was sidelined last year during the playoffs due to a torn labrum and had to watch from the sideline as his team advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in a decade.“I was in a sling,” Mathurin said earlier this week. “I was bringing cookies to the plane.”This time around, as Indiana tries to prove last year’s postseason run wasn’t a fluke, Mathurin is fully healthy and shone off the bench in his playoff debut. The 2022 No. 6 pick scored nine of his 13 points in the second quarter, highlighted by a transition 3 that gave the Pacers a 56-41 lead. Mathurin’s role has fluctuated this season as he’s transitioned from being a starter to a key reserve. But the scoring punch he provided Saturday, while making all eight of his free-throw attempts, helped the Pacers roll past the Bucks.Indiana, appearing in its first playoff series with home-court advantage in 11 years, had six players score in double figures. In addition to Mathurin, Siakam paced the team with 25 points, Turner added 19 points and four blocks, and Tyrese Haliburton finished with 10 points and a game-high 12 assists for his fifth career playoff double-double. — BoydGiannis can’t do it all by himselfThe Bucks did nearly everything wrong defensively in the first half in Indianapolis. The Pacers scored 26 points in the paint. They got out on the run and put up 15 points on fast breaks. Indiana made 61 percent of its shots in the first half. One of the league’s most efficient offenses got everything it wanted for the first 24 minutes.On the other end, Antetokounmpo was forced to do everything by himself. And he tried to do it, but he couldn’t pull off the impossible. Giannis drew nine fouls on Pacers defenders and scored 19 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Bucks went 2-for-16 from behind the 3-point line. Things got better for the Bucks in the second half, but not by much, as Game 1 of this series was essentially over by halftime.The Bucks made a push in the fourth quarter with a unit featuring Antetokounmpo and four 3-point threats — Kevin Porter Jr., Gary Trent Jr., AJ Green and Bobby Portis — off the bench, but it wasn’t enough. That lineup has been one of the Bucks’ best in the final few weeks of the season, but the Bucks are going to have to find something else that works if they want to upset the Pacers in this series.Milwaukee needs to find a way to make things tougher on the Pacers defensively for the entire game. And on the other end, they are going to need to find Antetokounmpo some help. The two-time MVP scored 36 of the Bucks’ 98 points, while the Bucks went 8-of-35 from the 3-point line and two starters (Taurean Prince and Kyle Kuzma) played 20-plus minutes without scoring. Maybe that extra help comes in the form of Damian Lillard, but if he can’t play in Game 2 on Tuesday, the Bucks will need more from the rest of the roster. — Eric Nehm(Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
Keep Reading
