Toronto Raptors guard Gary Trent, Jr. turned into the main character on this wild-card weekend playoff matchup. He tied Hall of Famer Ray Allen’s franchise record for made threes in a postseason game – oh my! He went nuclear, hitting 9 of 12 three-pointers to light up the scoreboard. His stellar effort led to the Milwaukee Bucks closing out an impressive 117-101 win over the Indiana Pacers. This victory reduced the Pacers’ series advantage to 2-1 in their first round playoff series in the Eastern Conference.
The game — played at the Bucks’ Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee — was marked by a freakish second-half collapse from the Bucks. Antetokounmpo was electric, putting up 37 points while flying all over the court. He matched his franchise playoff record by sinking nine triples. His Karl-Anthony-Towns-at-the-Combine performance had rejuvenated Chicken Little mode on his draft stock. Beyond that, it aimed the Bucks to a crucial victory, given Indiana’s dispatching of them in last year’s playoff opening round.
Trent backpedaled, leaped and reached in to make a phenomenal play. That’s especially remarkable when you realize that he had just been 1-of-8 shooting from beyond-the-arc. He came back in this competition, showing the kind of toughness and talent that carried his squad’s performance. Joining Trent in double figures was AJ Green, who scored 12 points, and Bobby Portis, who pitched in 10 points for the Bucks.
For the Pacers, Pascal Siakam was the high man with 28 points, with Aaron Nesmith adding 18 points. Improbably or not, Tyrese Haliburton was fantastic for Indiana, throwing down 14 points and 10 dimes. His playmaking talents were on full display in the pivotal second half.
This matchup was already the 18th meeting between the Bucks and Pacers over the last two seasons. Milwaukee, however, has been Indiana’s whipping boy of late, as the Bucks have lost five of six playoff matchups to the Pacers. With the Bucks’ recent win, we’ve reached a pivotal moment in this series. The Bucks are juiced and eager to pursue playoff greatness. It’s forcing them to re-evaluate and change course as they look ahead to the second half of the season.
Leave a Reply