On May 1, Beijing time, the NBA playoffs continued, and judging from the games that have ended, the first round of the NBA playoffs has gradually lost suspense. The Thunder and Timberwolves in the West are both swept to advance, the Nuggets gentlemen swept the Lakers to advance, and the Clippers and Mavericks are still entangled, after a 2-2 draw. In the East, the Knicks were pulled back by the 76ers, but the big score was still 3-2 ahead, the Celtics led the Heat 3-1 to get the match point, and the Cavaliers won the battle of Tianwang Mountain, leading the Magic 3-2. The Pacers and the Bucks faced off in this series, before the Pacers led the Bucks 3-1, one thing is for sure, the offensive firepower of the Pacers this season, the Bucks coached by the old Rivers + this lineup system, they can't hold it at all, and they face the Pacers 1-4 in the regular season. In the playoffs, Brother Alphabet solegot a strain and still couldn't play, and Lillard suffered a severe Achilles tendon strain!
In the words of Mr. Su Qun, since trading for Lillard, the Bucks have become the most cursed team. But from an objective point of view, the Bucks' trade ruined their own defensive system, and the old Rivers was also at a loss, and the entire Bucks seemed to be scattered. According to the probability calculation given by the American media "BR" before the game, the probability of the Bucks advancing is only 12.8%, and the probability of the Pacers advancing is 87.2%! Middleton bluntly said in an interview that the team will not consider the situation of falling behind by a large score at present, and the team has also experienced this situation and must play one game at a time. Without Antetokounmpo and Lillard, everyone else has to give their full energy. Statistics show that Middleton averaged 26.3 points per game in the playoffs this season, ranking first in the league with an increase of 11.2 points in the regular season, and Harden ranked second with an increase of 9.4 points (16.6 points in the regular season and 26 points in the playoffs).
Pacers starters: Haliburton + Nembhard + Nesmith + Sika + Turner, Bucks starters: Beverley + Beasley + Middleton + Portis + Lopez. At the beginning of the game, Da Luo was against Turner's one-arm split, Haliburton and Turner rained three-pointers, and after Middleton made a three-point foul, he had to cover for three points, and then shot again! Shepard and Turner continued to blossom inside and outside in the second half, and McDermott also continued to shoot three-pointers, and the Bucks struggled, with the Pacers leading the Bucks 31-23 in the first quarter. At the beginning of the second quarter, Gallinari and Beverley attacked and chased points, Portis shook off the defensive layup + mid-range shot, Middleton continued to make a three-pointer in the middle, and the Bucks overtook the Pacers with a wave of 12-2 climax!
After that, Beverley and Toppin clashed, Beverley trained Haliburton, the Bucks were still widening the difference, and Haliburton scored 5 points in a row to stop the bleeding at the critical moment! Beverley continued to eat Nembhard alone, and in the second half Connaughton and Nesmith had a three-point match, Beverley felt hot, and the Bucks led the Pacers 53-48 at halftime. In the first half, Middleton had 17 points, Beverley had 12 points, Portis had 11 points and Haliburton had 11 points. At the beginning of the second half, Beasley made a steal and layup, Middleton pulled a three-pointer, Portis threw it, and the Bucks opened up a 12-point difference. The Pacers' offense still didn't improve, and Middleton and Portis were on fire, but fortunately, Harry Pos and Shepard made layups to stop the bleeding. In the second half, Da Luo and Portis played a small climax, and Beasley rained three points, and the difference was as many as 19 points.
Sika and Toppin hit back-to-back singles to stop the bleeding, and Beverley and Gallinari made kills, and the Bucks led the Pacers 87-67 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter of the decisive battle, Beasley continued to score three points + counterattack layup, Da Luo attacked the basket, Haliburton's three-point shot was a drop in the air, and Beasley and Portis maintained a score difference of more than 20 points. In the last 5 minutes, Middleton's layup + Portis steal and counterattack to seal the win! After that, the game went into garbage time, and finally the Bucks beat the Pacers 115-92 at home, bringing the score to 2-3.
Bucks stats, Portis 29 points and 10 rebounds, Middleton 29 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists, Beverley 13 points, 4 rebounds and 12 assists, Da Lopez 12 points and 3 rebounds, Beasley 18 points and 5 rebounds, Connaughton 9 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists. Pacers statistics, Haliburton 16 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists, Nembhard 12 points and 5 assists, Turner 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists, Sika 12 points and 4 rebounds, Nesmith 7 points, Toppin 12 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
First of all, Beverley's spirit, including the attitude of fighting for every ball from the first quarter, infected the whole team, played too hard, hand-to-hand with Haliburton, and several card entanglements with Nesmith, without falling behind. Secondly, Portis stepped up in this game and combined with Middleton to become the basic set of the Bucks on the offensive end. Without two cores and everyone working together, the Pacers are clearly not comfortable with this kind of fist-to-flesh confrontation. Of course, the Bucks' biggest challenge is the next game, going to the Pacers' home court, can they still play like this?