Pacers win Game 2 on the road over Milwaukee, and now it's a series

Siakam was brilliant -- again. Nembhard balled out. Myles Turner was terrific. Haliburton was solid. A lot to like as the Pacers went snarl for snarl with the Bucks.

MY COUCH, Ind. – Ah, so this is what playoff effort, playoff tenacity, playoff focus looks like. The Pacers could be forgiven for forgetting, or not knowing, what this portion of this season is all about; it’s been four years since Indiana reached the postseason, and very few Pacers have playoff experience.

But two nights after being embarrassed by Dame Lillard and the Giannis-less Bucks in a game that was never in doubt, the Pacers reverted to the type of tough-minded, smart, quick-twitch basketball that made them such a dangerous team coming into these playoffs. The Pacers didn’t just win Game 2, 125-108, winning their first playoff game since Game 6 over Cleveland in 2018 and breaking a 10-game playoff losing streak, but they sent a warning shot to the Bucks:

They’re ready for a fight now.

They weren’t in Game 1 – disappointing but somewhat understandable – but in Game 2, they were the aggressors, going shove for shove, snarl for snarl, elbow for elbow with the Bucks. Andrew Nembhard refused to back down from Bobby Portis. Haliburton yapped. Aaron Nesmith pushed the envelope. Shoot, even Tyrese Haliburton, never known as a sturdy one-on-one defender, got caught up in the fray. There was no backup, no quarter given. Welcome to the playoffs.

Lillard was marvelous again – he’s more effective as a team’s first scoring option, as he was in Portland – and Brook Lopez hit several early three’s, but the Pacers took over in the second half and more specifically the fourth quarter, with a 25-4 run sending Milwaukee fans to the exits early.

The road team has won a playoff game. Series on.