Pacers vs Bucks Lines Shift To Bucks’ Favor
Milwaukee Reaping Game 1's Blow Out Win Over Indiana
Most of us probably forgot what Damian Lillard is capable of in the playoffs. He hadn’t made the playoffs for a couple of seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers, but now that he’s with the Bucks, the playoffs will come more regularly.
Lillard hasn’t been the Bucks’ No. 1 player this season. Instead, he’s been the No. 2 player behind Giannis Antetokounmpo. With that, Lillard hasn’t been able to take control offensively and get super hot.
However, with Giannis currently injured due to a calf injury, Lillard led the Bucks in Game 1 to a massive 109-94 victory over the Pacers. He scored 35 points in the first half, and the Bucks never looked back from there.
It’s currently unclear if Antetkoounmpo will return to the court in Game 2. But “Playoff Lillard” is a bit different.
Can the Bucks add another home win to jump out to a 2-0 series lead in the first round of the Eastern Conference?
After their blowout win in Game 1, the Bucks are favored at -1.5 (-110). This is quite the difference from Game 1 when the Pacers were favored. Meanwhile, the total is set at 222.5.
Let’s break down the Game 2 Pacers vs Bucks lines for Tuesday’s playoff matchup.
Pacers vs Bucks 
Records: Indiana Pacers (47-37), Milwaukee Bucks (50-33)
Day/Time:
Location: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WI
Streaming: NBA TV
Pacers vs Bucks Lines & Trends
With Giannis ruled out of Game 1, the Pacers were favored on the road. However, Damian Lillard reminded the Pacers how good he can be as the main guy.
The Pacers lost outright as -1.5 point favorites, and the total went way below the closed total of 230. Because of that, the total is now just 222.5.
Head-to-head, the over has hit in seven of the last ten games. However, in the NBA Playoffs, the defensive intensity increases, and each team’s depth begins to tighten.
Indiana’s Wake Up Call
The Pacers have had major success against the Bucks in the regular season. They were confident heading into the playoff matchup, but it didn’t start how they wanted. Instead, they got punked by the Bucks to start the game despite Antetokounmpo’s absence. Indiana’s All-Star point guard, Tyrese Haliburton barely shot the ball, and the Pacers were ultimately not ready to go in the first half.
It was clear who the more experienced team was. But to be fair, the Pacers held Lillard to no points in the second half and ultimately out-played the Bucks here. That’s why many analysts aren’t fully onboard with the Bucks just yet.
Lillard’s Bucks Playoff Record
Dame Lillard was unconscious in the first half against the Pacers. He scored 35 points after adding 19 in the first quarter. His 35 points were the most by a single player since Kevin Durant had 38 points in the first half against the Clippers in 2019 with Golden State.
It was also the most a player had ever scored in the Bucks’ first half in playoff history. In addition, Lillard’s 35 points gave him his third 30-point first half in the NBA Playoffs. Since 1997-98, no player has added three first halves with 30+ points. He shot 11-for-19 from the field and drained six threes to give the Bucks plenty of cushion in the second half.
The NBA rumors that Lillard is unhappy in Milwaukee don’t look valid after Game 1.
Don’t Get Too Hyped Over Milwaukee
It’s easy to get excited over the Bucks after their win over the Pacers. Realistically, the Pacers were inexperienced and not ready for the game. But they regrouped and played much better in the second half. This could be a quality buy-in spot for the Pacers. Indiana’s NBA playoff odds lengthened at +190 to win the series.
Anyway, Lillard had a ridiculous first half. But when the Pacers made their adjustments, Lillard didn’t score again in the second half. The Pacers also out-scored the Bucks 52-40 in the third and fourth quarters when looking at the NBA scores.
Milwaukee played good defense in Game 1. The Bucks held the Pacers to just a 44% effective field goal percentage and allowed just 97.9 points per 100 possessions to the Pacers. The Pacers are known for having the best offense in the NBA. So that was an impressive performance. It’s just hard to replicate that type of defense over and over again when facing the Pacers.
Meanwhile, the Bucks added only 13.6% of offensive rebounds and didn’t get to the foul line at a high rate. They just shot an effective field goal percentage of 55.8%, which was high for the Bucks. Yet, the Bucks still only scored 113.5 points per 100 possessions. No matter how often the media wants to talk about Lillard’s first-half performance, the offense wasn’t elite.
Plus, with the win, you’d have to figure the Bucks are more comfortable sitting Antetokounmpo for another game. Who knows if he would’ve been able to play regardless, but the decision will be much easier after the Bucks won the first game.
Without Antetokounmpo and a subpar offensive effort overall, we’d still consider backing the Pacers in Game 2. The Bucks won’t blitz the Pacers this time around. Indiana made their adjustments and watched it all work out in the second half. Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton will likely take exception to being called out after his relaxed first game.
He ultimately needs to be more aggressive. That’s how the Pacers beat the Bucks in all of those games earlier in the year. Just look at the stats, Haliburton averaged 27 points per game in five games against the Bucks this year. But then, in Game 1, he took only seven shots and scored nine points? That’s unacceptable. The coaching staff will speak with their star point guard about that.
Let’s ride the Pacers at -102 on the moneyline after looking at the Pacers vs Bucks lines.
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