INDIANAPOLIS: Myles Turner scored 29 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 24 and the Indiana Pacers made a franchise playoff record 22 3-pointers as they pulled away late for a 126-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night.
The win gave the Pacers a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Indiana has won three straight since losing the opener and can reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014 — with a win Tuesday at Milwaukee.
Indiana is 7-2 this season against the Bucks, who are trying to avoid a second straight first-round exit.
Haliburton posted a career playoff scoring high for the second straight game while Turner matched a playoff career high that he set in Friday night’s overtime win. Turner also had nine rebounds and four assists against a Bucks squad that was missing two injured All-Stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
It’s unclear if either will be available in Game 5. Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since straining his left calf April 9. Lillard injured his Achilles tendon Friday night and had a protective walking boot covering his right foot this weekend.
Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
But the Bucks depth took even bigger hits with Middleton playing much of the second half with four fouls and forward Bobby Portis Jr. being ejected with 5:01 left in the first quarter after he and Andrew Nembhard were involved in a shoving match. Portis drew two technical fouls on the play, part of a six-technical first half.
Still, the Pacers struggled to take advantage, finishing the back-and-forth first half with just a 67-64 lead.
But after Lopez’s opened the third quarter with a basket, Haliburton responded with three straight 3s to give the Pacers a 76-66 lead. The Bucks never completely recovered as Indiana extended the margin to 95-78 on Obi Toppin’s layup with 2:24 left in the quarter.
Milwaukee opened the fourth with seven straight points to close to 98-92. Indiana answered with a 10-2 run to rebuild a 108-94 cushion with 7:25 to play and the Bucks couldn’t get within single digits the rest of the game.
Nembhard finished with 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers and Pascal Siakam added 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Malik Beasley added 20 points for Milwaukee.
Pacers hit franchise playoff best 22 3-pointers to beat Bucks 126-113, take 3-1 lead in series
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Pacers hit franchise playoff best 22 3-pointers to beat Bucks 126-113, take 3-1 lead in series
Al-Ahli thrash Al-Ettifaq to keep pressure on Al-Hilal at the top
- Ivan Toney bags hat-trick and an assist en route to 4-0 victory for Al-Ahli
- The Greens move into 2nd place on 43 points, cutting the gap to Al-Hilal to two points, with the leaders holding a game in hand
RIYADH: Al-Ahli could not have asked for a better tune-up ahead of their second meeting with Al-Hilal this season on Monday. With the league leaders travelling to Khobar to face an in-form Al-Qadsiah on Thursday, victory over Al-Ettifaq offered Al-Ahli the chance to capitalise on any dropped points.
Matthias Jaissle’s side produced an excellent display in front of the home crowd, opening matchday 19 with a commanding 4-0 win.
Early on, it appeared Al-Ahli may already have had one eye on the looming clash with Al-Hilal. Al-Ettifaq began with determination, winning second balls effectively and dictating the tempo. However, Al-Ahli’s unique 3-4-2-1 set-up for this encounter proved fruitful.
The hosts lined up with Franck Kessié partnering Roger Ibanez and Rayan Hamed across the back, while Wenderson Galeno and Mohammed Abdulrahman operated as wide midfielders. Enzo Millot and Riyad Mahrez occupied the spaces behind Ivan Toney, pulling defenders out of Al-Ettifaq’s defence to create space in behind.
That approach underpinned both first-half goals. In the 17th minute, a long ball launched by Édouard Mendy released Mahrez into the channel, as the Algerian squared for Toney to slot home the opener.
Ten minutes later, Millot dragged Abdullah Al-Khateeb out of defence to play Galeno in behind, who was ultimately brought down by Al-Khateeb, prompting the referee to award a penalty.
Toney finished confidently from the spot to move temporarily clear at the top of the charts, netting his 17th goal of the season — one more than Cristiano Ronaldo and Julián Quiñones.
Al-Ahli pushed on after the break, eager to put the game beyond doubt and manage minutes ahead of Monday.
Valentin Atangana missed a golden opportunity in the 56th minute when a cutback slipped away from him in front of an open goal, but he made amends eight mintes leater. A super diagonal pass from Mahrez found Toney on the edge of the box, who played it into the Frenchman for the third.
Moments later, Toney passed up the chance to complete his hat-trick when Marek Rodák denied him at close range in the 66th minute.
The Englishman would not be denied for long, as in the 84th minute, the referee pointed to the spot once more after Abdulrahman was fouled by Francisco Calvo. Toney converted his second penalty of the night and his 18th goal of the campaign.
Al-Ahli head into Monday’s showdown against Al-Hilal in high spirits, having won their last eight games. Should Al-Hilal defeat Al-Qadsiah on Thursday, the gap will revert to four points. Any slip-up, however, would leave Al-Ahli within touching distance of top spot.
Elsewhere, Al-Najma and Al-Riyadh played out a 1-1 draw in Qassim as the hosts’ winless run continued. Meanwhile, Al-Fayha defeated Al-Khaleej 3-1 to move eight points clear of the relegation zone, with Fashion Sakala and Chris Smalling getting on the scoresheet.
Action resumes on Thursday, with Al-Ittihad travelling to the Eastern Province to face Al-Fateh at 6:00pm. Two more fixtures follow at 8:30pm, as Al-Hazem host Al-Shabab in Qassim and Al-Qadsiah welcome Al-Hilal in a clash that could further tighten the title race.
