Pacers eye improvements after blowing out Bucks

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers certainly savored their first playoff opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse since the 2013-14 season and appropriately celebrated their 117-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

But after taking a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series, the Pacers tried to walk a fine line of taking heart in the win while also understanding that Saturday’s blueprint might be hard to duplicate. After surviving a 36-point, 12-rebound effort from Milwaukee star Giannis Antetokounmpo by shutting down the Bucks’ supporting cast, the Pacers know they’ve got to keep their collective foot on the pedal.

“I haven’t looked at any of the film yet, but the series is one-seventh over and Game 2 will be monumentally more difficult than this one,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said.

“I think it was decent,” Pacers center Myles Turner said of his team’s defense, which limited Milwaukee’s four starters outside of Antetokounmpo to 5-of-20 shooting (25%). “We definitely have areas to improve. I think we fouled way too much. I think we missed … some of our doubles, as well. So, overall, I think it was good to get our baseline. That’s what Game 1’s all about. Get your baseline, you make your adjustments, you improve from there.”

It was quite the luxury to come away with some dissatisfaction in a game the Pacers led by as many as 28 points. Indiana was dominant at times in the first half, closing the second quarter on an 18-5 run to take control before the Bucks tightened things up in the second half. Indiana forward Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with 25 points and seven rebounds with guard Andrew Nembhard adding 17 points and guard Tyrese Haliburton contributing with 12 assists.

Of course, Indiana cannot realistically expect the Bucks to have a similarly poor shooting night in each game this series, meaning that an intensified defensive effort against Antetokounmpo will be a focus of the next several days leading into Game 2 on Tuesday.

“Giannis got to the basket too much,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’re trying to build walls. He’s still getting there. He’s a great player and great players cause collateral problems, so it’s not a surprise. But we’ve got to look at that.”

Antetokounmpo consistently got downhill against the Pacers, resulting in him shooting 11 free throws in the first half alone. The Pacers tried using a second defender against him throughout, but that worked only intermittently.

“A tough cover,” Siakam said. “You’ve got to do the best you can. He’s really good at getting to the paint, getting to the rim. He’s strong, he’s physical, so it is going to take a lot and I thought we did a decent job. But he got a lot of easy buckets there, too, and we’ve just got to continue to make it as hard as we can on him. It’s a tough job for sure.”

That job was made easier by the fact that the remaining Bucks offered little, including starters Taurean Prince and Kyle Kuzma who were both held scoreless. That came as a result of the Pacers creating tough shots and, at other times, outright misses. Coupled with the fact that the Pacers had a well-rounded offensive effort, with five players in double figures, and it was more than enough to come away with a key win.

The Pacers’ ball movement was impressive, with 28 total assists compared to Milwaukee’s 15. Antetokounmpo took issue with his team’s offensive disposition and made it clear Saturday’s effort won’t suffice.

“We’ve got to be more decisive with the ball,” he said. “That’s pretty much it. When the ball gets to your hand, see that you shoot the ball or create an opportunity to create the advantage for the next player. If you don’t have a shot, that means you can get downhill. Or if you get downhill, either you finish or you pass the ball. Just be decisive.

“The way we played tonight, at times, wasn’t us.”