Pacers Beat Shorthanded Bucks – The Bucks are on the brink of elimination. Already without the services of their two best players, Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Bucks lost one more key player early in Sunday’s playoff Game 4 against the Indiana Pacers.
Without those core players, it proved to be too much to overcome as the Pacers went unconscious from the perimeter and held off a Bucks supporting cast that refused to give up for a 126-113 win to secure a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Milwaukee kept things interesting early on before finding themselves behind the eight ball even more, being down a third starter with the ejection of Bobby Portis. Officials tossed Portis in the opening quarter following a skirmish with Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard. With the Pacers leading by a single point, 17-16, late in the frame, Portis and Nembhard got into it on the baseline after a dead-ball whistle.
Bucks forward Khris Middleton was fouled on a drive to the basket that resulted in a missed shot. Portis reached around Nembhard’s right shoulder as the two battled for rebounding position. Nembhard pushed Portis off him, and Portis responded by shoving Nembhard and smacking him in the back of his head. The two were separated before the situation escalated any further.
The officials went to the replay monitor and reviewed the incident. They assessed a technical foul to Nembhard and two technical fouls on Portis, resulting in his ejection. Officials cited two Portis incidents, a “push in the chest” and a “slap with contact to the head of Nembhard”, for the separate technical fouls.
“It was a tough break for us, there’s no doubt about it,” Rivers said when asked about Portis’ early departure. “Playoff games are high emotion; they really are and so that happened. You can’t get it back once it happened.”
The Pacers were given a technical free throw that Tyrese Haliburton hit before Middleton shot his free throws for the personal foul. The Bucks played the remainder of the game without their Sixth Man of the Year finalist who stepped in to start in Antetokounmpo’s absence. In three playoff games prior to his exit, Portis did his job, averaging a double-double, 15.3 points and 13.3 rebounds, production that the Bucks sorely missed on Sunday.
With Middleton and Brook Lopez leading the way, Milwaukee remarkably kept the game close and entered halftime trailing only by three, 67-64. But the Pacers put their foot on the gas pedal and said not in our house and seized control of the game with a 31-21 advantage in the third quarter.
Milwaukee cut the lead down to six, 98-92, with a 7-0 spurt to start the fourth. But the deficit on the scoreboard and the bench proved too much for the Bucks to overcome. In the end, they ultimately could not keep up with a Pacers high-powered offense that set a playoff franchise record with 22 made 3s on 43 attempts (51.2%).
Center Myles Turner led the 3-point barrage with a career-high seven makes on nine attempts. He finished the game stuffing the stat sheet with 29 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Haliburton, who was questionable going into the game with back spasms and had to wear a heating pad when he went to the bench, shot 5 of 12 from the great beyond, in route to 24 points, four rebounds and four assists. This was after a triple-double on Friday.
“After that first game, we watched a lot of film and I saw some of the holes in the defense and realized there were open shots we could exploit,” Turner said. “A lot of it is read and react, which is pretty much what our whole offense is.”
Nembhard, who narrowly avoided ejection for the fracas with Portis, knocked down 3 of 4 3-pointers on his way to 15 points and nine dimes. He and feisty backup point guard T.J. McConnell combined for 17 assists with zero turnovers.
Lopez led the Bucks with 27 points and nine boards. Middleton added 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists while playing on two bad wheels. The injury prone former All-Star is thriving in an expanded role after missing 27 games in the regular season. Unfortunately for the Bucks, his All-Star teammates were not with him on the court on Sunday.
The series returns to the Pfizer Forum in Milwaukee for Game 5, where the Pacers will look to close it out on the Bucks’ home court. Lillard’s and Antetokounmpo’s status for Game 5 is unclear.
And…
Embed from Getty ImagesTimberwolves Outlast Suns to Finish Sweep. Finch Injured – The sun has set in the desert. The young, wet behind the ears, Minnesota Timberwolves are off to the Western conference semifinals for the first time in two decades.
Their first-round sweep of the Phoenix Suns put the league on notice they might be ready to go even deeper.
Anthony Edwards put in a game-high 40 points, Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 and the Timberwolves pulled away late to beat the Suns 122-116 on Sunday night and swept the first-round playoff series.
The victory came after coach Chris Finch left the game late in the fourth after an inadvertent collision with Timberwolves veteran point guard Mike Conley. The team said he had suffered a ruptured patellar tendon in his right knee.
The success for Minnesota has been a long time coming, particularly for Towns, who was drafted with the No. 1 overall pick in 2015 out of the University of Kentucky and waited nearly ten years to get his first playoff series win. Edwards is in his fourth season after being the No. 1 overall selection in 2020 out of the University of Georgia.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Towns said before looking at Edwards. “Playing with my man on my right just makes it more special. To be able to do it with someone I have so much admiration for, so much respect for.
“The future’s so bright for him, I’ve got to put my sunglasses on.”
The Suns took care of the Timberwolves in a trio of regular-season games, but Minnesota flipped that script in the playoffs by wearing down a Phoenix team that had championship aspirations with their big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
The 35-year-old Durant, who will be 36 in September, who Edwards said was his idol growing up, offered nothing but admiration and praise for the young star.
“So impressed with Ant,” Durant said. “My favorite player to watch. Just grown up so much since he came into the league. His love for the game shines bright. That’s one of the reasons I like him the most, because he just loves basketball, he’s grateful to be in this position and he’s taken advantage of every opportunity he’s gotten.
“I love everything about Ant. Everything.”
The Wolves will play the winner of the Denver Nuggets or Los Angeles Lakers series in the second round. The Nuggets have a 3-1 lead with Game 5 on Monday night.
It is human nature that the Wolves might take a day or two to enjoy this series win. Minnesota was eliminated out of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, including in five games against the Nuggets in 2023. They might get another crack at them soon.
The Timberwolves were a problem for the Suns throughout the series, flashing a deep roster that includes Conley, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, defensive star Rudy Gobert, sixth man of the year Naz Reid and Jaden McDaniels.
But there is little doubt Edwards and Towns lead the show.
Edwards had just nine points in the first half before exploding on the Suns after the break, which was enough to overcome Booker’s 49 points. His powerful, one-handed jam late in the fourth sealed the W.
“That was the gameplan, get everyone involved,” Edwards said.
“But in the second half, it’s time to win. I’ve got to shoot my shots.”
The Timberwolves have methodically improved under third-year coach Finch, who was replaced by assistant Micah Nori for the final 1:41 as the Wolves pulled away to win.
Nori said Finch was in good spirits after the game and will be ready to lead the team going forward.
“It’s just one series win, you don’t want to overblow it, but it’s the next step in the progression for all our guys,” Nori said.
