INDIANAPOLIS – On Saturday morning, the inside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse featured overlapping feelings of normality and anticipation. Deep inside the arena, the Indiana Pacers were preparing for the opening game of their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. In the locker room, there was a sense of routine. “Rocket Ship” by Future was playing as players ate their pregame meals and went over film. They were getting ready how they typically do.
Yet just down the hallway, the radiance of yellow t-shirts lit up the playing field. The playoffs logo was everywhere. ESPN was broadcasting the action. The grandeur of basketball scenery upped the emotions. This wasn’t a typical game.
Those contrasting sensations come every year when the postseason starts. For the Pacers, though, the rush of emotion was different this time. In 2024, they were playoff newbies. They didn’t know how to feel on the big stage and were smoked in their opening game – falling down by 27 points at halftime. This year, though? They knew what to expect.
“I’m just ready to go,” Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said matter-of-factly just under two hours before the game began.
Last April, the Pacers also played the Bucks in the postseason’s first round. Game 1 was in Milwaukee, and it was the first playoff game ever for Indiana players Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Ben Sheppard, and Isaiah Jackson. The team played like an inexperienced playoff group, shooting just 35.6% from the field and tossing away seven turnovers in the first half of action. They scored 42 points as a team – Bucks star Damian Lillard had 35 by himself. They were embarrassed and said as much after the game.
What was different for the Pacers this time?
This year, Game 1 was in Indianapolis. And this year, the Pacers knew what was coming at them. They’ve handled the emotions before, and they’ve battled the Bucks more than 15 times in the last 18 months.
In order to show their progress as a growing team, the Pacers needed to turn their experience into early success. Despite reaching the Eastern Conference Finals last year, they went 0-3 in Game 1s. They were slow starters.
On Saturday, the same group had opposite results. Myles Turner hit a three-point shot 17 seconds into the game. The blue and gold generated five wide-open attempts from outside the arc in the first 4:08 of the action, leading to a Milwaukee timeout. They were rolling to start things off.
The Pacers lead reached double digits less than 10 minutes into the action. They were up by 20 before the second quarter ended. By halftime, they were ahead by 24. Before the game started, emotions were going in every direction. Yet during the first half, Indiana showed just one emotion: confidence.
“I think just the sense of urgency. Last year, with it being a lot of our first playoff games, we eased into Game 1,” Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton said postgame. “Today, I thought we did a good job being ready to go from the jump.”
The Pacers made 61% of their shots in the first half. As a team, they had just two turnovers. The Bucks were forced into substandard looks as the Pacers raced ahead, executing their game plan they spent all week building.
“I thought the first half, our level of persistence was good, and it was consistent,” Carlisle said.
The Pacers knew their mentality had to be different this year. Last season, they were happy to have made the playoff field – this time around, they have much higher expectations for themselves. That can lead to pressure, but it also forces a level of focus.
Indiana had that focus early, and they maintained it to start their second half. Their Game 1 lead became a game-high 28 with 8:11 to go in the third quarter. That’s a huge edge, and the fourth-seeded group had 20 minutes to hold it.
For a few moments, things were shaky. The Bucks cut their deficit to 15 thanks to solid play across the next seven minutes, leading to some anxious feelings among onlookers. Yet while the fourth quarter featured back-and-forth play and the Pacers lead dropping down to 12, the hosts were never in too much danger. Milwaukee reached 95 points with 5:24 left on the clock, then didn’t score again until just 25 seconds remained. That stretch put the game away as the Pacers cruised to a 19-point win.
“I think it was our good chemistry and our talk, communication with each other. And just being serious about it,” Pacers center Thomas Bryant said of his team showing up and backing up their words from the week leading up to the series. “Approaching the game with a business mindset. Going out there to try and get a win and not really trying to go out there and showboat and everything.”
The Pacers took an 11-point lead with 6:27 on the clock in the second quarter. They were ahead by double figures the rest of the way. It wasn’t always perfect – though much of their second quarter was – but it was a strong, statement-making outing from the Pacers. They are a much more mature group than they were just 12 months ago.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo was sensational, scoring 36 points and pulling in 12 rebounds during his 38 minutes. But Indiana was undeterred. Their offense stuck to a game plan and created great shots all night. Haliburton, who had an off scoring night and shot 3/13, loved his own looks and hopes he can get the same ones in Game 2.
Even with the star battle tipping Milwaukee’s way, the now more-seasoned Pacers had answers for the Bucks. Their rivals couldn’t keep up. The game was the perfect representation of the one-year development the Pacers have gone through.
In 2024, they crumbled to open the playoffs. The mixture of emotions was crushing, and they couldn’t stay on task early. For 24 minutes, they looked like they didn’t belong and walked away humiliated. Many players expressed their dismay in the team not sticking to the gameplan or maintaining their pace.
This time around, the execution was there. The tempo remained. It was mature, and the Pacers smashed the Bucks to open the playoffs. It’s their first Game 1 victory since 2018, having home court advantage gave them an edge.
“We’ve been good at home. So getting home court advantage, I think was big for us,” Haliburton said. “We’re just trying to ride it from there.”
The next challenge for the Pacers, both on the court and in their minds, is maintaining this start to the best-of-seven set. They only played one home game in the 2024 postseason during which they held a series lead at the time of tipoff. Their expectations are about to meet new challenges and new emotions.
“Got to come with that same mindset, if not even more,” Bryant said of Game 2. He won a championship with the Denver Nuggets in 2023.
The second game of the series is on Tuesday, meaning both teams will have time to tweak their plans and prepare. The Pacers used the days before Game 1 effectively, and it paid off. They’ll hope to repeat that in Gainbridge Fieldhouse two days from now, and armed with more maturity, they’ll have a shot. But Carlisle knows it won’t be easy.
“Game 2,” the Pacers coach began, “Will be monumentally more difficult than this one.”