On Tuesday night, the Indiana Pacers held off a late Milwaukee Bucks charge and claimed Game 2 in their Eastern Conference first-round series, 123-115, grabbing a 2-0 lead. Even big games from Giannis Antetokounmpo and the returning Damian Lillard could not halt Indiana’s balanced attack and toughness.
Pascal Siakam topped the Pacers with 24 points and 11 rebounds; Tyrese Haliburton chipped in with 21 points and 12 assists. The Pacers led wire-to-wire and stretched their advantage to 15 points in the fourth quarter before the Bucks ripped off a 13-0 run to draw to within two. But some clutch threes from Siakam and Andrew Nembhard kept the Pacers afloat. Nembhard had 17 points and the Pacers had six players score in double figures.
Antetokounmpo finished with 34 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists for Milwaukee, and Lillard — deemed fit for his first game in five weeks — ended with 14 points and seven assists in 37 minutes. The game was chippy from start to finish, with several technical fouls, including one charged against Siakam and Bobby Portis in the final minutes.
In the West, the top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder remained the hallmark of a powerful postseason performance, beating the Memphis Grizzlies, 118-99. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 27 points, Jalen Williams 24, and Chet Holmgren 20 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Thunder jumped to a quick 9-0 lead and hit on 12 of their 15 three-pointers in the first half. They dominated the game on both ends, outscoring Memphis in fast-break points (21-3) and in the paint (54-46). Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant scored a combined 49 points, but Memphis never trimmed its deficit to fewer than 15 points in the fourth quarter.
Both Indiana and OKC now head into Game 3 with full momentum and a 2-0 series cushion.
