On April 23, the first round of the 2024-25 NBA playoffs continued, with the Milwaukee Bucks away challenging the Indiana Pacers. This was the second game of the series, and after losing in Game 1, the Bucks welcomed the return of core guard Damian Lillard from injury. However, facing the hot Pacers, the Bucks eventually lost again with a score of 115-123, falling behind 0-2 in the series, and the situation was not optimistic.

In the first quarter, the Pacers opened fire at home, and the whole team was in hot form, scoring 40 points in a single quarter and quickly established a double-digit lead. Although the Bucks had Lillard's return, the overall offense and defense rhythm was still slow. Entering the second quarter, Antetokounmpo began to exert his strength, leading the team to make multiple counterattacks, and the Bucks recovered some of the points difference. At the end of the half, the Pacers still led 62-54 .

After the change of sides, the two sides fell into a stalemate. The Bucks relied on Antetokounmpo's strong inside attack and Portis's mid-range and long-range shots to chase points, but the Pacers maintained good offensive efficiency under the organization of Haliburton. Siakam, Nembhard and Nesmith blossomed in multiple places, making the Bucks defense difficult. At the end of the third quarter, the Pacers still led by 10 points.

In the final quarter, the Bucks launched a final counterattack. Antetokounmpo made a series of difficult attacks, and the score difference was once narrowed to 5 points. Unfortunately, the Pacers withstood the pressure at the critical moment. Haliburton sent out assists one after another, and Siakam and Turner completed the key points. In the end, they played steadily and held on to the victory.

Bucks player statistics

  Antetokounmpo 34 points , 18 rebounds , 7 assists, Portis 28 points , 12 rebounds , 1 assist, Lillard 14 points , 3 rebounds , 7 assists, Kuzma 12 points , 3 rebounds , 1 assist, Porter 9 points , 1 rebound , 3 assists , Lopez 8 points, 1 rebound , 1 assist , 4 blocks, Prince 6 points , 4 assists , 2 steals, Trent 4 points , 1 rebound , 1 assist, AJ Green 2 rebounds , 1 assist, Sims 2 rebounds

Pacers player statistics

Siakam 24 points, 11 rebounds , 3 assists , 3 steals, Haliburton 21 points , 5 rebounds , 12 assists , Nembhard 17 points , 3 rebounds , 6 assists, Nesmith 16 points , 2 rebounds , 2 assists , Turner 15 points , 2 rebounds , 1 assist, 2 blocks, Marceline 14 points, 1 rebound , 1 assist , Toppin 7 points , 3 rebounds , 1 assist, McConaughey 6 points , 5 rebounds , 4 assists , 2 steals, Walker 3 points , 4 rebounds, Bryant 2 rebounds

Currently, the Bucks are already 0-2 behind. If they cannot recover as soon as possible and rebound in the next home game, the promotion situation will become extremely difficult. On the other hand, the Pacers' two consecutive victories have added great confidence to them and also made the team steadily move towards the victory of the series.