The Indiana Pacers sprinted out of the gates to lead 33-25 after the first quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks to kick off the first NBA playoff matchup of the 2025 season.
Indiana relied on scoring from several avenues with Pascal Siakam, Aaron Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin all reaching double digits before halftime.
The Bucks on the other hand mostly leaned on MVP hopeful Giannis Antetokounmpo to handle to scoring in the first two periods. The Greek Freak lived at the line, racking up 8 free throw attempts before the first period was over.
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The Bucks struggled to hang with the Pacers when their talisman Giannis Antetokounmpo sat at the start of the second quarter.
Pacers star Tyrese Halliburton started 0-4 from the field, going scoreless in the first but started scoring freely with a layup and a pull up jumper from mid range.
The Pacers defense stifled the Bucks who committed several turnovers and found themselves down 24 points at the half.
Amlan Sanyal is a basketball writer at Sportskeeda with more than two years of experience. Amlan has a soft spot for the lovable loser, and years of supporting Leeds Utd, the Seattle Mariners and San Antonio Spurs have made him realize that there’s more to sport than just championships.
Amlan started falling for basketball after watching the San Antonio Spurs in 2012 and 2013. He watched as a collective of veteran legends, underrated misfits and a young defensive stud extended the Spurs’ era of dominance with a team-oriented style, reminiscent of the aesthetic brilliance of 2011 FC Barcelona.
Amlan has supported the Spurs ever since, even after enduring the heartbreaks of Ray Allen’s corner three and several years in the wilderness post-Kawhi Leonard. He hopes Victor Wembanyama will become the face of the league as Pop rides off into the sunset.
When not working, Amlan is a keen quizzer and a podcast buff and can usually be found reading books, watching movies or listening to history podcasts.
