Obi Toppin scored 21 points, T.J. McConnell had 20 points and nine assists, and the Indiana Pacers won a playoff series for the first time in a decade, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 120-98 in Game 6 on Thursday night in Indianapolis.
The Pacers will play against the winner of the Philadelphia-New York series in the Eastern Conference semifinals. New York had a 3-2 lead before Game 6 on Thursday.
Indiana’s important victory happened exactly 30 years after they beat Orlando 3-0 to advance in the NBA playoffs for the first time in team history. The win came on a night the Bucks again were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who never played after straining his left calf on April 9.
Damian Lillard came back from a right Achilles injury and played well, but he was not nearly as dominant as he was in the first two games when he scored 69 points. Lillard ended up with 28 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
Bobby Portis Jr. added 20 points and 15 rebounds for Milwaukee. Brook Lopez also had 20 points, and Khris Middleton had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton contributed 17 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds for Indiana, and Pascal Siakam finished with 19 points and seven rebounds. Toppin and McConnell each achieved their highest playoff scoring, and McConnell also had four steals.
Indiana won 8-3 against the Bucks this season and handed Milwaukee its second straight first-round exit.
Was it easy? Not at all. Indiana turned the game around with a 23-3 first-quarter burst that made it 29-19, and the Pacers never trailed again.
But every time the Bucks made a strong comeback, the Pacers had a response.
When Milwaukee reduced it to 38-34 early in the second quarter, Indiana scored seven straight points. When the Bucks began the second half with a 9-4 spurt to close to 63-56, Indiana reacted with a 10-5 run to extend the lead to 12. When Milwaukee got to 85-78 with 6:05 left in the third, McConnell finished an 11-0 run with two 3-pointers to make it 96-78 early in the fourth.
And the Bucks never bounced back as the Pacers increased the lead to 104-84 with 8:07 to play. From that moment, there was a cheerful atmosphere at Gainbridge Fieldhouse with Pacers players being cheered off the court to a standing ovation.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
The Orlando Magic really want a chance to go back on the road, and the Los Angeles Clippers are hoping to return home, though not permanently.
There are two more elimination games in the NBA playoffs on Friday night, with the Magic hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Clippers visiting the Dallas Mavericks after falling behind 3-2 in the first-round matchups.
With Donovan Mitchell scoring 28 points and Evan Mobley blocking Franz Wagner’s layup in the final seconds of a one-point win on Tuesday night, Cleveland is very close to advancing to face Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals after winning Games 1, 2 and 5 at home.
Pablo Banchero and the Magic won Games 3 and 4 at home with a combined 61 point lead, and they believe they can send the series back to Ohio for a decisive seventh game on Sunday.
The coach, Jamahl Mosley, told his team on Thursday that they need to go and win the game ahead.
Mosley also mentioned that Game 6 will be different from the previous games at home and that they need to change their energy and effort for this game.
The winner of the Dallas-Los Angeles game will play against Oklahoma City in the West semifinals.
After a 30-point loss to the Mavs in Game 5, the Clippers are in danger of being eliminated. They played without the injured Kawhi Leonard for the third time, and Paul George and James Harden combined for just 22 points of 6-for-25 shooting.
George said that their performance in the previous game was not typical of them and they need to improve, especially in this situation.
Mavs coach Jason Kidd anticipates that Los Angeles will perform better on Friday night.
Kidd emphasized the need to protect home court and not take anything for granted in the series, considering that both teams have won on the road.
The Cavs and Magic have been engaged in a physical and tense series, exchanging elbows, trash talk, and bad vibes over five games.
Game 6, or Round 6, is expected to be no different.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff is preparing for a physical game and emphasized the importance of being mentally prepared from the start.
The Cavaliers managed to win the only close game in the series on Wednesday, despite the absence of starting center Jarrett Allen, who is dealing with a painful rib injury and may not be ready.
Allen, who did not practice on Thursday, has been Cleveland’s top player in the playoffs and is crucial to the team.
Allen’s absence led Bickerstaff to change his rotation and use more bench players, a decision he had been criticized for avoiding.
Mobley moved from power forward to center, Isaac Okoro started, and the ineffective Georges Niang was benched in favor of veteran Marcus Morris Sr., who contributed 12 points and provided toughness.
Due to Allen’s uncertain status for Friday, the Cavs may need to rely on a team effort once again.