Tyrese Haliburton hit a floater from the free-throw line with 1.6 seconds left in overtime, giving the Indiana Pacers a 121–118 victory in Game 3 of their NBA first-round playoff matchup with the Milwaukee Bucks . With the win, Indiana takes a 2-1 lead in the series.
The game almost went to a second overtime when Khris Middleton tied the score at 118-118 by firing in a three-pointer from the top of the arc with eight seconds left. Middleton sent the game to the first overtime after hitting a three-pointer over Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith, tying the game at 111–111 with 2.1 seconds left in regulation time.
Middleton was listed as questionable Thursday due to an ankle injury, but he scored 42 points (4-for-9 shooting from three-point range) with 10 rebounds for the Bucks. Bobby Portis grabbed 18 rebounds for Milwaukee, along with his 17 points.
The Pacers jumped out to a 39-22 lead at the end of the first quarter and looked to blow the Bucks out. But Milwaukee took away the lead and got close to 90-83 after three quarters. In the fourth, a 10-2 run gave the Bucks a 95-92 lead. Indiana took a 109–106 lead and appeared to have the match in hand before Middleton’s late-game heroics.
Damian Lillard added 28 points in a losing effort, but his health for the rest of the series could be in question. After the game, Bucks coach Doc Rivers explained that Lillard may have injured his Achilles tendon.
Doc Rivers, on Damian Lillard: “I think it’s his Achilles tendon again, so we’ll see.”
Rivers: “Honestly, Dame was really struggling. During overtime, he literally said, ‘I’m going to be the decoy. I just can’t go as far as an explosion.’ So I thought just having Dame there was huge for us.”
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) April 27, 2024
Lillard’s availability was in question after he suffered an apparent knee injury late in the first quarter. He took the ball to the basket against Pascal Siakam and landed hard on his left leg. The eight-time All-Star immediately went to the ground and clutched his knee in pain.
Trainers watched him on the Bucks’ bench and then led him to the locker room. At halftime, Lillard scored just nine points on 2-for-10 shooting from the field.
Lillard looked like he would be the difference in the game during the second half, scoring 17 points after halftime. But like Rivers said, he got exhausted toward the end of the game and wasn’t a factor in overtime.
The Bucks entered the series short-handed with Giannis Antetokounmpo out with a calf injury. Despite finishing as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, Milwaukee’s loss to the No. 6 seed Pacers now looks like a very real possibility with its top three players either on the sidelines or limping along.
Tyrese Haliburton overcame poor shooting to become the hero
Haliburton will be remembered for the game-winning shot in Game 3, but he struggled to score until that point. The Pacers star scored 18 points on 8-for-22 shooting (including 1-for-11 on 3-pointers), but recorded a triple-double with 16 assists and 10 rebounds during a game-high 46 minutes.
Myles Turner led Indiana with 29 points with nine rebounds and Siakam scored 17 points and also grabbed nine boards.
In his fourth NBA season, Haliburton had a breakout season, leading the Pacers to the finals of the regular season tournament and their first trip to the playoffs in four seasons.
However, he has had a rough run, perhaps because of the matches with Lillard and Patrick Beverley. Halliburton scored nine points in Game 1 and 12 in Game 2 after a regular season in which he averaged 20.1 points per game.
The Pacers haven’t won a playoff series since the 2013-14 season, when they reached the Eastern Conference finals and lost to the Miami Heat in six games.
Game 4 of the Bucks-Pacers series is scheduled for Sunday in Indianapolis. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM ET, with the show airing on TNT.
