Nesmith chases down Portis, Turner dunks on Antetokounmpo's head and the perfect Pacers make easy work of the Bucks to take a 3-1 series lead

It was, well, really impressive. The series ends Tuesday back at Gainbridge.

When the Pacers are percolating, performing a symphony of ball and man movement, they are an outfit to behold. When Aaron Nesmith is sprinting downcourt to do a chase down block of a Bobby Portis’ third-quarter layup attempt, the Pacers are darned near impossible to beat. When Myles turner, a major factor in this series until a wayward Game 3 performance, is posterizing Giannis Antetokounmpo and protecting the rim like he owns it, the Pacers are as much of an Eastern Conference threat as any of the other teams currently leading their series.

In a series the Pacers have dominated in seven of eight halves, sprinting to a three games to one lead over the doomed Milwaukee Bucks, the Pacers have been a beautiful team to watch, eschewing the isolations that led to their third-quarter demise in Game 3 and moving the basketball with alacrity and joy.

Meanwhile, there were the Bucks, who are now reduced to Anteokounmpo and a bunch of role players, the Bucks losing Dame Lillard to what appears to be a serious Achilles injury. I’m not a doctor, but it seemed strange to me that Lillard, who only returned to full exercise one week before returning to the court, played 37 minutes in Game 1. Could de-conditioning have played a role in an injury that will act as the final nail in the coffin for this series? Got to think so. But again, not a doctor.

It's challenging to find a key moment in a game that was essentially a four-quarter beatdown, but Nesmith’s chase down block, followed by Tyrese Haliburton’s three-point play at the other end, plunged the dagger into the overwhelmed Bucks.