Tyrese Haliburton scored 26 points, including the go-ahead layup with 1.4 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Indiana Pacers rallied for a 119-118 win over the Milwaukee Bucks to clinch their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series on Tuesday evening in Indianapolis.
Haliburton jumped on to the scorers’ table and raised his arms toward the crowd to celebrate the wild comeback, which gave Indiana a 4-1 win in the best-of-seven series. The Pacers advanced to the semifinals, where they will face the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers.
Indiana trailed 118-111 with 40 seconds remaining in overtime. They closed the game on an 8-0 run behind a 3-pointer by Andrew Nembhard, a three-point play by Haliburton and finally a driving layup in which Haliburton blew past Giannis Antetokounmpo for the decisive basket.
Antetokounmpo tallied a triple-double with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists for the Bucks, who played their first game without injured guard Damian Lillard (Achilles). Gary Trent Jr. scored 33 points, including 12 points in overtime. Trent made eight 3-pointers.
Myles Turner finished with 21 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers. Aaron Nesmith scored 19 points and pulled down 12 rebounds, and T.J. McConnell scored 18 points off the bench. Haliburton had nine assists.
The score was tied at 103 at the end of regulation. Antetokounmpo had a chance to win the game at the buzzer, but his turnaround jump shot was too strong and clanked off the back rim.
Haliburton helped the Pacers force overtime. He scored Indiana’s final six points of regulation.
Milwaukee led 103-99 with 53.1 seconds left after Antetokounmpo made a floating jump shot.
The Pacers closed the gap to 103-101 after Haliburton drew a shooting foul against Antetokounmpo and made a pair of free throws with 39.8 seconds remaining.
After Kevin Porter Jr. missed a shot on the other end, Haliburton again took control. He drove past Trent Jr. from the 3-point line and elevated for a game-tying dunk with 10.8. seconds left.
The Bucks stormed to a 30-13 lead at the end of the first quarter and held on to a 47-41 advantage at the half.
