Pacers fall apart in middle quarters, fail to close out Bucks with loss in Game 5

MILWAUKEE -- The Pacers blew an opportunity to close out a playoff series for the first time since 2014, losing Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first round series with the Bucks 115-92 on Tuesday night at Fiserv Forum.

The Pacers still lead the series 3-2. Game 6 is Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and gives Bucks stars Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo another day to recover from injuries.

Here are four observations.

After strong first period, Pacers fall apart

With Antetokounmpo and Lillard out again, the Pacers started strong on the first quarter and seemed to be on a glide path to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

But in the second quarter the wheels came off and the Pacers never found a way to re-attach them.

The Pacers led by as many as 10 points in the first quarter, scoring 31 points on 11 of 21 shooting including 7 of 13 from 3-point range to post a gaudy 1.48 points per possession.

But from the beginning of the second quarter on the Pacers found it more difficult to make shots on the perimeter and couldn't find anyway to get the ball in the paint, so the league's top-scoring offense fizzed completely.

In the second quarter, they scored just 17 points on 7 of 20 shooting, making 2 of 8 3s and posting 0.78 points per possession. The third period didn't get any better as they scored just 19 points on 7 of 17 shooting, missing all five of their 3-point attempts and posting 0.79 points per possession. Meanwhile the Bucks scored a combined 64 points in those periods on 23 of 45 shooting, posting 1.33 points per possession in the second and 1.41 in the third, taking an 87-67 lead into the fourth and cruising from there.

"After a good first quarter, things went very much downhill after that," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "Give the Bucks credit. They played hard. They played with a high compete level. We did some good things early. I don't think we were playing with the kind of intensity we needed to even with the lead. ... We just didn't play with the consistent compete level we needed to. I'll take responsibility for that. I didn't have the guys ready the way they needed to be ready to play this game."

The Pacers simply found themselves defeated across the board.

"We just got stagnant, stopped making shots, stopped playing our brand of basketball," All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "... They were playing desperate. They were playing hard. As they should be. At the end of the day, they outcompeted us tonight. They played harder. They played better. They just dominated every facet of the game tonight."

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Pacers struggle to shoot both inside and outside

The Bucks didn't give the Pacers a lot of easy opportunities to score at the rim in Game 4, giving up just 38 points in the paint, but the 22 3-pointers the Pacers hit allowed them to easily make up for that. The Bucks were again forceful around the rim in Game 5, however, and the Pacers didn't shoot well enough to pull away.

Just 14 of the Pacers' 41 field goal attempts in the first half came in the paint and they made just eight of those. They were a little more determined to get there in the second half, but still scored just 26 points in the paint in the last two periods and 42 for the game.

The Bucks defended well at all levels with guards Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley taking away drives and cheating away from shooters to dig down to either clog lanes or double team big men in the lane. They also mixed in zone to get more bodies around the lane, and they put out small lineups and used a lot of switching to hold the Pacers back.

They especially made Pacers All-Star forward Pascal Siakam uncomfortable. After he dominated Game 1 and 2 the Bucks have gone after him, and on Tuesday he scored just 12 points on 5 of 12 shooting.

Forwards Aaron Nesmith and Obi Toppin also struggled, shooting a combined 6 of 16 from the floor for 19 points. Center Myles Turner had some success, scoring 13 points and shooting 6 of 9 from the floor, but he wasn't as dominant as he has been earlier in the series.

"That was more us on ourselves as opposed to their defense," Turner said. "I think we settled. I think our defense enticed us to settle on some of those open looking shots as opposed to those games where you have 30 assists or whatever it may be. That's when you're playing Pacers basketball. I think we got away from ourselves and it showed."

And while the Pacers couldn't force the ball into the lane, they also didn't shoot well enough from outside to take the Bucks away from their priority. They finished 12 of 38 from beyond the arc, and just 5 of 25 after the first quarter.

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Patrick Beverley, Bobby Portis Jr. burn Pacers

With Antetokounmpo and Lillard out, the Bucks got exceptional performances from the players asked to replace them.

After being ejected with two early technicals in Game 4, Bobby Portis Jr. had a sensational Game 5. Starting as he has all series in place of Antetokounmpo, he scored 29 points on 14 of 24 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Guard Patrick Beverley was starting before Lillard got hurt, but he was asked to do a lot more with the ball in his hands with Lillard out. He attacked the rim, infuriated the Pacers on both ends and got teammates open. He scored 13 points, 12 of them in the second quarter, and also dished out 12 assists. Also Malik Beasley, who was added to the starting lineup when Lillard went out, scored 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting, 4 of 6 from 3.

Khris Middleton continues to shine

Khris Middleton is the Bucks' third biggest name and with the other two All-Stars out he's been excellent all series. That didn't change in Game 5.

Middleton scored 29 points on 9 of 20 shooting, hitting 4 of 7 3-pointers. It was the third straight game he's scored at least 25 points. Middleton is averaging 26.8 points per game in the series after averaging 15.1 points per game in the regular season.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Khris Middleton, Bobby Portis Jr. lead Bucks over Pacers in Game 5