Haliburton, Siakam counter punch to take Game 2

Indiana takes 2-0 lead over Bucks

By: Samson Folk I @samfolkk

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard were finally lining up, together, across from the Pacers for a playoff series. We made it. The Bucks were running double drag with Lillard on ball, and playing zone on the other end. Players hit the lineup. Several courtside crowd members dressed up in their brightest oranges along with their camo. Stops had been pulled out. And yet, the Pacers stuck to their process and worked the ball from end to end, and threatened after the catch. 

The frontcourt (Siakam and Turner) pepper in 13 early points and allowed the Pacers to take a 16-8 lead. The Pacers faithful carried over their excellent energy as they counted down Antetokounmpo’s free throws, and tested the decibel limit when Obi Toppin skied for a corner crash that Andrew Nembhard interrupted with a lob. Tyrese Haliburton and Lillard exchanged pull-up triples, and trash talk. Even after Siakam left the floor – which was expected to complicate the Antetokounmpo matchup – the Pacers sent bodies and got enough stops. Sure, the big man got to some baby hooks, but the Pacers swarmed him pretty well.

After game 1, a podcast listener described the Pacers playstyle as something similar to “hive mind", and after they opened up the game with a 31-16 lead, largely as the result of egalitarian, humming offense - that felt accurate. 

The shift in pace that came with the Siakam + bench lineup (mostly), didn’t go as well for the Pacers in this one, though. After both teams squabbled together in a grumpy mixup (Gary Trent Jr. and Mathurin had offsetting techs), the game devolved into an absolute mess of missed shots and missed connections. The 75-percent jump shooting that TJ McConnell and Siakam buoyed the Pacers with in game 1 swung the other way as they missed some shots, while the Bucks hit a couple contested jumpers and Bobby Portis shook loose for a couple great looks on the inside, and a triple to go with it. Messy, clunky hoops. Somehow, the Pacers clung onto a 10-point lead through it all. As gross as things were on the Pacers end of things, the Bucks couldn’t find easy offense for their big names either.

A couple gritty possessions on defense launched the Pacers back into the open floor and they bumped the lead back up to 14, and then Haliburton and Nembhard checked back in to add the element of control to the offense. First play? Haliburton coming off a flare, Nembhard finding him, and a 3 dropping in. Defensively though, they lost Antetokounmpo on back to back possessions and had to either allow a layup, or big, dramatic rotations that opened up looks from downtown. Both offenses found rhythm and began to score rapidly. Haliburton was manipulating taggers, making reads, and even driving all the way to the cup. 

The Bucks did climb back though, and brought the lead back down to four. The biggest difference during that stretch, to my eye, was the rim defense. The Bucks were mixing zone in quite often, and keeping the big boys (Antetokounmpo and Lopez) in very close proximity to the rim. Lillard’s presence, while only providing 11 points and 1 assist, changed the roles on the Bucks a lot. Allowing Antetokounmpo to perform as a playmaker, and for Lopez to enter the fray as an impact player in this series. Most of the clear and easy motivators for the Game 1 win had changed for the Pacers, and a couple of guys who didn’t play very well in the opener (Haliburton and Nesmith) were keeping them ahead with their shot making. 68-60 at the half. 

Just as a note, once again, hard to overstate how much the clarity of Haliburton’s decision making and aggression provided a world of change for a Pacers team that strung together far too many passive moments against the Bucks zone. The Pacers star was bringing it. 

Coming out of the half though, the Pacers immediately gave the ball to Siakam in the middle of the zone, he found Nesmith, and Nesmith showed no hesitation as the shot went up immediately and dropped in shortly thereafter. Meaningful stuff. The Pacers shot making was the one thing that kept them out ahead as the Bucks started to win the battle on the glass, and to really inform the pace of the game. 

With 16 minutes left in the game, that was really where things stood. Would the Pacers shore things up on the glass and speed the game up to run away with things? Or, would the Bucks finally start to provide the punch at the end of their runouts? 

To close out the 3rd quarter? More of the same. Punch, counterpunch. Ad infinitum. The game defied convention. Siakam spearheaded the Pacers offense – beating isolation matchups and getting to the line, looking incredible – while Antetokounmpo ran roughshod to the rim. No discernible tempo to this one. Simply put: this game was bebop jazz. To some, maybe it was Ornette Coleman. To others? Perhaps the kind that you take your smoke break during. Me? Seated. Enthralled. 

15-point lead for the Pacers. 8 minutes to go. Siakam, who was carrying the team considerably, checked out. Nembhard hit a pull up middy. Nesmith flashed middle for a floater. Portis answered with a triple that put him at 22 points. Toppin banged a corner triple. Ancillary players were showing up everywhere as both teams were pinging the ball around. The Bucks, desperately waiting for an Antetokounmpo takeover, or for Lillard to score a single point in the second half. They needed something to help close the gap that had existed all night, and was comfortably, often north of double digits in favor of the Pacers. 

Antetokounmpo’s drives did find enough pay dirt. Lillard did eventually turn the corner on Nembhard (before finding Portis in the corner for yet another three). The Pacers kept flattening out the offense, and missing the longer looks they were taking. With 3 minutes left, the Bucks scraped and clawed to within 5 after ANOTHER PORTIS TRIPLE. 

All the stars were in the game. The final rotations were here. It was closing time. 

After a lot of madness, and a couple ORBS, Lillard banged a 30-foot bomb. On the other end, Nembhard probed and found Siakam for a triple of his own. Punch. Counterpunch. Nembhard stepped back on Antetokounmpo for a triple after an ATO BLOB broke down. 

Nails. Nails. Nails. Tough. Tough. Tough. 

The game settled into free throws and came to a close. Pacers win. Up 2-0 in the series. 

There’s a lot of stuff for the Pacers to look at and correct. The Bucks, without a doubt, managed to steal the pace away, and to guide the style and tempo of the game. However, the Pacers have some real players on their team. Siakam’s second half was undeniable, and extremely special. Haliburton kept his foot on the gas and salvaged the great start to the first half with a strong finish to it. Nembhard had the herky-jerk creation when the offense broke down. 

The Pacers opened the game with that hive mind. They really did. But, they kept the Bucks at bay by looking at singular, tremendous players. 

Winning in different ways. Just like great teams do. 

Have a blessed day.