INDIANAPOLIS — If the repeated verbal altercations and the assessment of double technical fouls in each of the first two games between the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers did not fully convey how acrimonious things have become between the teams, Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton made sure to leave no doubt.
“We don’t have to sit here and act like it’s any secret,” Haliburton said after the Pacers took a 2-0 lead in the series with a 123-115 victory over the Bucks on Tuesday. “We don’t like them, they don’t like us and that’s just what it is. And I think they live for this, we live for this, so I could [not] care less. I’m out here just trying to help my team win a game.”
The latest installment of Bucks-Pacers was just as unfriendly as many of the other recent games between these teams. And things figure to remain heated as the Bucks head back to Milwaukee desperate for a win.
Game 1 in this series was marked by an altercation between Haliburton and Bucks star Damian Lillard — who was on the bench for that game but returned to action for the first time in a month Tuesday. Game 2 produced another run-in between the two All-Stars and Olympians. There was another tense moment when benches cleared after Milwaukee’s Gary Trent Jr. and Indiana’s Pascal Siakam wrestled over a loose ball.
Of his run-ins with Lillard, Haliburton said, “Just competitors. He wants to win, I want to win. It’s the highest level. We’re in the highest level in the most contentious moment here in the playoffs.”
Maybe this is what should be expected between two teams that have seen so much of each other in the past two seasons. Including their meetings in the regular season, last season’s In-Season Tournament semifinal and their six-game playoff series last April, the Pacers and Bucks have squared off 18 times since the start of the 2023-24 season. Among those games was a regular-season matchup in December 2023 that was followed by a tense postgame confrontation over Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo’s attempt to recover a game ball from the Pacers to commemorate his 64-point performance that night.
Antetokounmpo acknowledged the strife between the teams but suggested his team had bigger problems given the 2-0 deficit and the fact that Milwaukee has led for a combined three minutes in the series.
“I feel like there’s a lot of animosity, a lot of back and forth,” he said. “But I try to stay away from it. I try to stay away from it as much as I can and just focus on what I’ve got to do to help the team win. But, s—, if you poke me, I’m right there. I’m not backing down.
“I think a lot of people know that about me, but I really don’t care about what people think or what [the Pacers] think or what we think. I really don’t care. My mindset right now is Game 3. We know the f—ing deal man. I just know the deal. I know what I’ve got to do.”
The Pacers seemed headed for a rout at times Tuesday, leading by as many as 16 points after blowing open Game 1 by as many as 28 points. But Milwaukee showed life in the final minutes, going on a 13-0 run to turn a 15-point Indiana lead with 5:43 remaining into a two-point game by the 2:33 mark. Lillard, who returned after being sidelined by a blood clot since March 18, hit a 3-pointer to make it a 115-113 game.
But the Pacers, who have shown mettle in close games this season, responded with a pair of 3s and ultimately closed out the win.
Lillard surprisingly played 37 minutes despite the layoff, finishing with 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Antetokounmpo was dominant again, scoring 34 after his 36-point effort in Game 1. Bobby Portis Jr. added 28 for Milwaukee.
The Pacers got a balanced scoring effort, with six players in double figures, led by Siakam with 24 points. Haliburton contributed 21 points and 12 assists.
As for what might lie ahead in Game 3 and beyond, Haliburton said to expect more of the same emotion from both teams.
“I’m sure you’re going to continue to see that through the course of the series,” he said. “Everybody says the league rivalries aren’t here anymore. Well, it’s right here. So, this is an interesting series. We’ve played each other, it feels like, a million times over the last two years. I’ve seen every different coverage that they could throw at us. And I feel like those guys probably feel the same way about us. But there’s still a lot of series, you’ve got a lot of games to play. So, I’m sure there’ll be more heated moments, more competitive moments.”
Source: espn.com