NBA
Pacers Believe They Can Be Better Despite Game 1 Dominance
Vivek Jacob is a freelance sports writer with over seven years experience. During this time, he has written for outlets including The Athletic, Yahoo Sports, Sportsnet, CBC, and Complex. Primarily covering the NBA, Vivek also covers tennis, soccer, and cricket.
Get to know Vivek Jacob betterPublished20 Apr 2025
The Indiana Pacers were very impressive in a 117-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1. Still, they believe they can be better.
Indiana shot over 50 percent from the field, 38 percent from three, and turned the ball over just five times. Pascal Siakam scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting, Myles Turner had 19 points including 4-of-6 shooting from deep, and Andrew Nembhard scored 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
Bucks starters not named Giannis Antetokounmpo shot 5-of-20 from the field and not a single one of them reached double-digits in scoring.
Where is the room for improvement?
“I think it was decent,” Turner said of his team’s defense. “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.”
Antetokounmpo finished with 36 points and got to the free-throw line 15 times. He drew six fouls in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Pacers defended him by committee with Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Jarace Walker all taking turns. It meant that while there were fouls committed, none were in foul trouble.
“Giannis got to the basket too much,” 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.”
Bucks Felt They Weren’t Themselves
For all of Antetokounmpo’s rim attacks, the Bucks need to make that pressure count by knocking down shots from the outside to keep the Pacers defense honest.
Milwaukee shot 9-for-37 (24.3 percent) from three and, especially with Damian Lillard out, that won’t put any kind of pressure on Indiana’s strategy.
It’s possible that Lillard could return for Game 2 and that would certainly shift the dynamic of the series.
“We’ve got to be more decisive with the ball,” Antetokounmpo 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 the ball. Just be decisive.
“The way we played tonight, at times, wasn’t us.”
Game 2 is Tuesday, April 22nd.
