Tyrese Haliburton scored a layup with 1.1 seconds left to push the Indiana Pacers to a 119-118 come-from-behind win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday. The Bucks led 118-117 when the Pacers' pressure defense forced Gary Trent Jr. to lose the ball along the sidelines. Rick Carlisle did not call a timeout, allowing Haliburton to carry the Pacers to the series-clinching victory.
The Bucks had a big chance to bring the series back to Milwaukee after leading 103-99 late in the fourth quarter. Indiana's defense came through when needed while Haliburton scored the last four points to tie the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a desperate 15-footer to send the game into overtime.
Antetokounmpo had a 30-point, 20-rebound and 13-assist night but failed to stop the Bucks from going on vacation early. Twice in the last two seasons they exit the playoffs in the first round at the hands of the Pacers.
The Milwaukee Bucks looked to survive for another day when they took on the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 on Tuesday. Down 1-3 in the series, the Bucks hoped to pull off a road win without superstar Damian Lillard, who tore his left Achilles tendon two nights ago. Milwaukee could go out for the second straight year on the same stage against the same opponent with another loss.
Doc Rivers showed desperation by shuffling his starting unit. He inserted Bobby Portis for Brook Lopez and Kevin Porter Jr. for the injured Lillard. The ploy worked like a charm as Milwaukee raced to a 30-13 lead after 12 minutes.
The Pacers recovered from the surprise by sticking to their familiar balanced attack, hustle and pace. They flipped the script in the second quarter to trail by just 47-41 at halftime.
The third quarter became a seesaw battle between two teams raring to accomplish their respective goals. Indiana's execution and timely defensive stops allowed them to tie the game at 75-75 entering the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter was an exchange of haymakers between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Indiana Pacers. Tyrese Haliburton tied the game late before Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a 15-footer that forced overtime.
Haliburton came to the Pacers' rescue again in the extra period. Following an error by Gary Trent Jr., the point guard scored the game-winning layup to send his team to the semis.