Seven things to know about the Milwaukee Bucks playoff foe, Indiana Pacers

The Milwaukee Bucks have garnered the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and will face the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the NBA playoffs, beginning April 21. Here’s what to know about the first-round foe.

The Indiana Pacers likely starting lineup and reserves

Likely starters

• Tyrese Haliburton, 20.3 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 10.9 assists
• Pascal Siakam, 21.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 3.8 apt
• Myles Turner, 16.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.3 apg
• Aaron Nesmith, 12.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.5 apg
• Andrew Nembhard, 9.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 4.1 apg

Off the bench

• T.J. McConnell, 10.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 5.5 apg
• Jalen Smith, 9.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.0 apg
• Obi Toppin, 10.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.5 apg
• Ben Sheppard, 4.4 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.9 apg
• Isaiah Jackson, 6.5 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 0.8 apg

Coach: Rick Carlisle (22nd year as head coach, 63-70 playoff record, 1 NBA title)

Regular season clashes between the Bucks and Pacers

Nov. 9: Indiana 126, Milwaukee 124. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 54 points, but the Bucks ran out of gas down the stretch and Indiana rallied back from 10 points down in the final seven minutes.

Dec. 7: Indiana 128, Milwaukee 119. The first NBA In-Season Tournament featured a trip to Las Vegas for the semifinals, where the Pacers got on a hot streak that included a high-intensity win over the Bucks. Milwaukee rallied for a fourth-quarter lead but again wilted down the stretch despite 37 points from Antetokounmpo and 24 from Damian Lillard.

Dec. 13: Milwaukee 140, Indiana 126. The lone Bucks victory in five tries against Indiana had a memorable postscript. Antetokoumpo set the franchise single-game scoring record with 64 points, but a dispute over the game ball elevated tensions between the two teams, even though it turned out to be somewhat of a misunderstanding.

Jan. 1: Indiana 122, Milwaukee 113. In a New Year’s Day showcase, the Pacers ended Milwaukee’s 15-game home winning streak with a comeback victory after facing two 15-point deficits. Indiana’s bench outscored the Bucks, 70-16. Antetokounmpo had a triple double in the loss.

Jan. 3: Indiana 142, Milwaukee 130. The Bucks found themselves in the midst of a losing rut with the defeat at Gainbridge Fieldhouse two days after facing off at Fiserv Forum. Antetokounmpo flirted with a triple double.

The Indiana Pacers’ best player is from Wisconsin, but you knew that already

From afar, it’s been impressive to watch Oshkosh native Tyrese Haliburton evolve into an NBA superstar, but now he represents a significant obstacle. The guard scored 20.3 points per game this year for Indiana and handed out 10.9 assists per game, leading the league. He turned 24 in February and already has two all-star appearances on his resume.

The Bucks and Pacers have just a teeny bit of history this year

The infamous battle for the game ball after a game in December certainly enflamed tensions between the two teams after some emotional basketball earlier in the season, though the ball wasn’t the centerpiece of the initial dispute.

For those who need a refresher, Antetokounmpo gave a passionate tongue-lashing to Haliburton after the game, initially upset that the Pacers had declined to shake hands in the aftermath of the Bucks win, a game where Antetokounmpo happened to score a franchise-record 64 points.

Alerted to the possibility that the Pacers also left the floor with the game ball, Giannis ran toward the Pacers locker room seeking the memento.

Even after the situation was defused, Antetokounmpo said he didn’t believe he’d been given the correct ball.

It wasn’t just the ball and handshakes, either. Haliburton’s use of the “Dame Time” celebration in the In-Season Tournament perhaps contributed to the dust-up, and the fact that Antetokounmpo checked into the game late while still pursuing the single-game scoring record seemed to sit poorly with the Pacers. Bobby Portis and Aaron Nesmith both received technical fouls in the game, and Portis was ejected.

More: Audio and video from after Bucks game suggests Pacers knew the gravity of taking game ball

More: Whose game ball is it anyway? Social media erupts after Bucks-Pacers postgame tussle

We know now that the correct game ball was in the hands of a Bucks official, but the confusion afterward led to high tensions in the tunnel after the game.

Halburton technically isn’t Indiana’s leading scorer, and there’s some playoff history there

In January, the Pacers acquired Raptors star Pascal Siakam from the struggling Toronto franchise in exchange for three players (including former Buck Jordan Nwora) and future draft picks. Siakam has delivered in his 40 games with the Pacers, averaging 21.1 points per game (even better than Haliburton’s scoring mark) with 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists per contest.

Siakam has shot 38.4% from 3-point range with the Pacers, which would represent by far his best season from 3-point range if that were extrapolated over the full year.

Siakam scored 19 points per game for the Raptors in the 2019 postseason, a championship performance that included a win over the Bucks in the Eastern Conference finals. Siakam scored 14.5 points per contest in the Bucks series.

The Pacers are reasonably healthy, except for Bennedict Mathurin

Bennedict Mathurin, the 21-year-old rising star, tore his labrum and was ruled out for the rest of the season in March. He averaged 14.5 points and 4.0 rebounds over 59 games this season and was posting even better numbers after the all-star break before the injury.

This is Indiana’s first time in the playoffs in four years

The Pacers are in a bit of a playoff drought, having missed the postseason each of the last three years. Last year’s team went 35-47, so the jump to 47-35 was quite the flip. The Pacers went to the playoffs five years in a row from 2016-2020 … but lost in the first time each year. The last time Indiana won a playoff series was in 2014, when it appeared in the conference finals for the second year in a row.

The Bucks and Pacers have met twice in the playoffs, in 1999 and 2000. Indiana swept the earlier series, 3-0, and won the next year, 3-2, with a 96-95 outcome in the decisive game. Ervin Johnson didn’t miss a free throw in the final seconds when coach George Karl called for one, and Ray Allen’s 30-foot 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark. Reggie Miller scored 41 points.

T.J. McConnell has a reputation as a Bucks killer

Reserve T.J. McConnell has a bit of a reputation for burning the Bucks, and he comes by it somewhat honestly. His career high in scoring came in 2023 against Milwaukee, a 29-point effort in a 132-119 Bucks win. He also posted his third-best scoring effort against the Bucks in 2021, a 142-133 Bucks win.

McConnell also has 19-point showings against the Bucks, both in 2023, tied for his 10th-highest scoring output. For his career, he averages 8.4 points per game, though it’s up to 10.1 this year in 18.2 minutes per game. All told against Milwaukee, his 9.7 points per game are the most against any team, and he shoots a whopping 48.1% from 3-point range (13 for 27) against the Bucks.

The Pacers are the kings of … pace, which is why they’re the highest-scoring team in the league

Nobody makes more baskets or shoots a better field goal percentage in the NBA this year than the Pacers, adding up to an NBA-best 122.9 points per game. Nobody hands out more assists, and no team allows fewer 3-point shots and attempts on defense.

But there’s a dark side. Indiana also allows 120.3 points per game (28th in the league) and ranks 30th in allowed field-goal percentage.

It all adds up to a team that plays at one of the fastest paces in the league, behind only Washington in that department. The Pacers aren’t going to overwhelm anyone on the glass, but they still take solid care of the basketball, ranking just ahead of the Bucks in turnover percentage with the two at No. 7 and No. 8 in the NBA. This isn’t a team that’s letting the shot clock dip, and they’re going to quickly take advantage of defensive lapses with ball movement.