Bucks Blowout Pacers in Game One

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers are facing off in the Eastern Conference first round. Game one was a blowout, as the Bucks won by 15, with a final score of 109 to 94. With Giannis Antetokounmpo likely to miss at least the first few games of the series with a strained left calf, many fans were unsure how the Bucks would perform without the former MVP. If game one is proof of anything, they seem to be just fine. This is one of the most highly anticipated matchups of this year's NBA Playoffs. A player matchup to look out for in this series is going to be between Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton. Both are among the top point guards in the whole NBA, and it’s going to be fun to watch those two go at it. 

The Bucks had three players in double digits. Khris Middleton had 23, Bobby Portis, who filled in for Antetokounmpo, had 11, Brook Lopez Stats, had 11 and Lillard had 35, all of which came in the first half. For the Pacers, Pascal Siakam had 36, Myles Turner 17 T.J. McConnell had 10. A big part of the loss for the Pacers in this game was the play of Haliburton. He dropped a measly nine points and eight assists on 4/7 from the field and ⅓ from three. 

Looking ahead in the series, both teams are going to need to do more offensively. This past season, the Pacers averaged 123.3 points per game, the best mark in the NBA. The Bucks were one of the best-scoring teams in the league as well, averaging 119 points per game. That is fourth place in the NBA. With Milwaukee not having Antetokounmpo for a few games, the Pacers are going to have to capitalize now if they want to advance to the second round. Similarly, they are going to need Haliburton to play a lot better than he did in game one. He needs to be more aggressive, as he only took seven shots the entire game. Nonetheless, this is going to be a fun series.