Revisiting the last time the Indiana Pacers played the Bucks in the playoffs
By Ryan Stano
The Indiana Pacers will take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. It's the first time that these two teams have faced off against each other in the playoffs since the first round went to a seven-game series format. The last time these two teams faced off was in a five-game series.
That five-game series was in the first round of the 2000 playoffs. If you remember, that was the last and only time that the Pacers made the NBA Finals. They almost were knocked out by the Bucks in what was an extremely competitive series between two Central foes.
A team scored over 100 points just three times in the entire series. I'd be shocked if either team got held under 100 points in a single game this year. Times have certainly changed in the NBA. Game 1 was a win by the Pacers by a score of 88-85. That's after three quarters now.
The Indiana Pacers beat the Bucks in five games in a 2000 first-round playoff series
Indiana won Game 1 behind 26 points from Jalen Rose. Reggie Miller scored 21 points as well and he was able to mostly offset the 26 points that Ray Allen scored. This was back when Allen was athletic and could score from anywhere. Dale Davis had 12 points and 17 rebounds.
Milwaukee came back to win in Game 2 to even the series at one apiece. Indiana came back to win Game 3 and the Bucks won Game 4. The series would come down to one final matchup in Indianapolis because back then the first round was just five games.
Game 5 was a vintage Reggie Miller moment. He was not going to let the Pacers go home. Miller went off for 41 points on 15-25 shooting. The fear that Milwaukee had of fouling him late in the game was key too. They almost let their season tick away because they didn't want Miller taking foul shots at the end of the game.
dark. Next. Next story. The X-factor for the Pacers against the Bucks
Indiana won the game 96-95 to advance to the second round. As we know, the Pacers would go on to make the NBA Finals to take on the Lakers. Hopefully, something similar happens this season with them.