The undermanned Milwaukee Bucks were able to stave off elimination in their last outing despite being without the services of superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
The Bucks hope their two stars are able to return to the court on Thursday night when they play Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Indiana Pacers in Indianapolis.
Bobby Portis responded after an early ejection in Game 4 by collecting 29 points and 10 rebounds to pace Milwaukee to a 115-92 victory over Indiana in Game 5 on Tuesday. The third-seeded Bucks trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series against the sixth-seeded Pacers.
“We have to find a way to win, whatever it takes,” said Khris Middleton, who matched Portis with 29 points to go along with 12 rebounds and five assists. “We’re still confident. Our backs were up against the wall (on Tuesday), we had a great home crowd that got us going. So we’re going to have to find a way. That’s the only way to put it, find a way to get this next one and force a Game 7.”
Perhaps the “next one” will see the returns of Antetokounmpo and Lillard, who are scheduled to work out on Wednesday. Bucks coach Doc Rivers said both players are “very, very, very close” to returning to game action.
Antetokounmpo, a two-time NBA MVP, has been sidelined since April 9 due to a strained left calf.
Lillard, an eight-time All-Star, has missed the past two games with an Achilles injury. He averaged 32.3 points in the first three games of the series.
With both stars out of Milwaukee’s lineup, Myles Turner admitted that Indiana missed a golden opportunity on Tuesday to record its first playoff series win since 2014.
“Sure, yeah,” Turner said when asked about that chance before quickly adopting the company line. “I think we’re embracing the challenge that’s coming with us.”
The Pacers’ 10-point lead in the first quarter quickly evaporated in the second on Tuesday. They were outscored 30-17 in the quarter after making 7 of 20 shots from the floor, including just 2 of 8 from 3-point range.
“I don’t think we were playing with the kind of intensity we needed to even when we had the lead,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said. “We paid the price for it.”
Tyrese Haliburton scored 16 points and Turner added 13 for the Pacers, who finished with their lowest point total in 2023-24. They averaged 124 points in their three victories in the series.
“We’ve just got to understand that they’re a team that’s on the brink of their season being done,” Haliburton said. “They’re playing desperate, they’re playing hard, as they should be. At the end of the day, they out-competed us (in Game 5). They played harder, they played better. They kind of just dominated us in every facet of the game. We’ve got to be better. It starts with me and that first group, but we’ve just got to be better top to bottom.”
