Pacers win thriller, send Bucks packing again
By TYLER SMITH (@TylerSmith_ISL)
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — Did that actually just happen? Those words kept running through my head as I watched the Pacers celebrating on the court on Tuesday night. This team has laughed at those “win probability” metrics all season long, and they did it again in Game 5 against the Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers trailed by seven points with 40 seconds to play in Overtime, and somehow, still found a way to send Milwaukee home for the second straight year.
The Milwaukee turnovers and the Haliburton heroics are what we will remember the most, but you could point to any number of big plays and contributions from across the board that led to the victory. TJ McConnell kept the Pacers alive, scoring 18 points and getting the crowd back involved. Aaron Nesmith continued his great stretch with multiple big plays. You could also point to Andrew Nembhard’s long three and big steal, or Myles Turner’s defense in the biggest moments. As I said before the series started: The theory of the best player typically winning a playoff series will be put to the test in this round, because the Pacers have a true overall team.
“I’m still trying to process it,” said Pacers Center Myles Turner. “One of the craziest games I’ve personally ever been a part of.”
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle was proud of the effort: “We showed the kind of resiliency we have all year,” he said. “We were in this situation many times this year. Maybe not quite at that level. It’s very difficult to overcome that, but we did it a couple times. Guys got experience with that kind of pressure.”
For the Pacers, this entire season has been about proving themselves once again. Even a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals last season wasn’t enough to give this team the credit it deserved. A 10-15 record to start this season brought out the critics in full force. Since that time? The Pacers have a record of 44-18, a record in the calendar year 2025 of 38-15 , and after Tuesday night, they have another Playoff Series victory under their belts.
Tyrese Haliburton was one of just nine players in NBA history to begin the playoffs with four straight points/assists double-doubles. He was one assist shy of making it five in a row, but finished the clinching game with 26 points, nine assists, five rebounds, three blocks, and steals. The Pacers star finished the first round series with a very underrated stat line of 17.6 points, 11.6 assists, and 6.4 rebounds.
“I missed a lot of easy ones and smoked a big layup,” said Haliburton. “My teammates encouraged me to stay with it. Those guys kept me up. We just made plays when we needed to. Part of the resilience of this group. We’ll take it. Gotta get ready for Cleveland.”
The Pacers are now 9-0 at home in rounds one and two the last two seasons. They will get some rest over the next few days and begin to prepare for the juggernaut known as the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs won 64 games this season and will present a massive challenge for Indy. You can also look at it this way: Imagine winning 64 games but having to deal with this Pacers team in round two.
Get the popcorn ready. Round 2 is coming soon.
