3 negatives and 1 positive from Indiana's game 1 loss to Milwaukee
Indiana's Game 1 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks came and went, and there was plenty to take away.
By Mueez Azfar
Game 1 of the Pacers' playoff run is in the books, and it was a rather forgettable one, to say the least.
With Giannis Antetokounmpo out to start the series, Indiana was hoping to steal game 1 on the road and possibly even game 2 to return to Indiana up 2-0 fully prepared for his return. After all, with a 4-1 series record against the Bucks in the regular season, why wouldn't the Pacers feel confident, especially with Milwaukee missing their best player and a top-five player in the league for the first game or two?
Tip-off was at 7 PM, and hopes for high for Indiana to start off their first playoff series in four years with a win, their first in six years. Unfortunately, they will have to keep waiting for that.
To say the least, this was not Indy's night. In the first quarter, the Pacers kept it relatively close, trailing 21-30 at the end despite missing all of their three-pointers. Unfortunately, this was as good as they had it. In the second quarter, Milwaukee broke open the game behind 16 Damian Lillard points to go with his 19 in the first quarter to the tune of 35 first-half points. Once again, Indiana couldn't buy a bucket, going 6/18 from the field and 3/9 from deep and only scoring 21 points, essentially ending the game in the first half with a 42-69 deficit.
The third quarter looked to be a different story. Indiana improved their scoring to the tune of 29 points on 44% shooting and, most importantly, held the Bucks to 33% from the field and only 14 points. Going into the fourth quarter down 13 points, there was a chance Indiana could turn this monumental deficit into, if not a win, at least some confidence going into the next game.
Unfortunately, they had to settle for the momentum, as Indiana just couldn't get the shots to fall, shooting 2/9 from deep in the fourth quarter and allowing 26 Milwaukee points to end the game with a 94-109 loss. Without further ado, let's take a look at some takeaways, and even point out one positive from a less-than-stellar playoff return game.