It seems that whenever Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers meet, something too dramatic happens. Whether it is a quarrel on the rights of a game ball or a Nba Cup upset, these teams fell on one of the most fun rivalries in basketball. On Tuesday was another amazing. But this time, it was purely a basketball affair.
With 6.1 seconds to go and the Bucks leading 112-110, Andrew Nembhard de l’In Indiana was a chance to link the match. However, he divided his free throws, placing Milwaukee in the driver’s seat 112-111. Damian Lillard then calmly sank two free throws with 3.2 seconds to do to extend the three -time advance, which means that the worst case of Milwaukee, unless something catastrophic, was being overtime.
And then something catastrophic has happened.
With 3.2 seconds to play, Indiana aligned itself for an unorthodox inbold game. The four possible passing recipients have lined up in the rear area, with three in a parallel line. The entire design that Indiana used for the first time in an Eastern Conference final match a year ago, was to generate enough confusion to release Tyrese Haliburton in motion. This is exactly what happened.
Haliburton caught the incoming pass and threw a 3 -point pointer while a desperate Giannis Antetokounmpo slipped to him and committed a fault. Haliburton hit the 3rd and sank the franc launch to give the Pacers an unlikely four -point game and an advance of a point. Antetokounmpo missed one triple to the other end. Game finished.
The shot was incredible in a vacuum, but it also led significant implications in the playoffs. Indiana and Milwaukee are now tied with identical 36-28 records. The Detroit Pistons played two more games than the two and divided them, putting them at 37-29 and the three teams effectively equalized the head of the Eastern Conference. It is quite possible that this blow ends up swinging the advantage of the court at home in a first -round series between the Pacers and the Bucks, or changing that ends up facing who when the first round arrives.
Whatever the appearance of the ranking in a month, it was one of the wildest plans of the 2024-25 season. The four winning games are extremely rare. The defenses know that the most important thing in the defense of an end -of -game situation while leading by three is not a fault. But Indiana was able to go to the line, and the incredible Haliburton shooting was sufficient to steal the match.
