The Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks will once again do battle in the NBA Playoffs’ opening round.
It’s deja vu all over again in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks will once again do battle in the first act of the annual hardwood melodrama, as the two sides slide into the respective fourth and fifth slots of the Eastern Conference bracket. Then seeded sixth, Indiana won last year’s set 4-2 over third-seeded Milwaukee en route to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Indiana initially struggled to live up to the expectations generated by last year’s run to the conference semifinals, but eventually found its footing over the holidays: since the calendar flipped to 2025, the Pacers are one of four teams (next to the Association podium of Oklahoma City, Boston, and Cleveland) to post a win percentage of at least .700 at 33-14. The Pacers run back almost the same team from last year’s semifinal trek, with Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam leading the way. Indiana is seeking to win at least one postseason round in consecutive seasons for the first time since a three-year streak between 2012 and 2014.
It’s been a rollercoaster tour for the Bucks, who own the NBA’s second-longest active playoff streak at nine seasons (behind only Boston’s 11). They started the year 2-8, but recovered well enough to win the NBA Cup in-season competition, which featured an MVP effort from Giannis Antetokounmpo. Since then, the Bucks have dealt with several in-house calamities, such as Bobby Portis‘ lengthy suspension for violations of the league drug policy, the polarizing swap of franchise stalwart Khris Middleton for Kyle Kuzma, and Damian Lillard‘s active absence due to blood clots. Despite the calamities, the Bucks enter the postseason as one of the Association’s hottest teams, winning each of their last seven to swipe the five seed from Detroit and avoid a New York Knicks team that had their number this season.
This will be the fourth playoff meeting between the Pacers and Bucks, with the former prevailing in each of the first three get-togethers (1999, 2000, 2024).
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Who: (4) Indiana Pacers vs. (5) Milwaukee Bucks
What: NBA Playoffs, Eastern Conference, First Round
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis/Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee
Winners: MIL won season series 3-1
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Pacer to Watch: Bennedict Mathurin
The Pacers look remarkably similar to last year’s conference finalists but one of the biggest changes is the re-emergence of Mathurin, who got back on track after an inconsistent sophomore season. Mathurin came up big in the primary small forward spot when Aaron Nesmith dealt with an ankle injury and has played reasonably well in relief since Indianapolis conformity was restored with the latter’s return. The Bucks may have the depth advantage—remember, this winning streak has been built sans Lillard—but if Mathurin’s at the top of his game, the Pacers’ second unit can likewise thrive.
Buck to Watch: Ryan Rollins
The Bucks’ season could’ve been sunk when Portis got suspended and Lillard went down, but Rollins has become one on of the most unexpected heroes of the 2024-25 NBA campaign. Playing on a two-way deal with the Wisconsin Herd as recently as March, Rollins has shot over 54 percent from the field (including 49 percent from 3-point range) in just under 20 minutes a game since he was moved to a standard contract. More recently, Rollins stepped into the starting point guard spot Lillard was forced to vacate and averaged 10.9 points, 4.0 assists, and 1.1 steals during Milwaukee’s late seven-game winning streak. Rollins won’t be able to fully replicate what Lillard left behind, but his sterling substitute work has helped keep the championship chase afloat.
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What They’re Saying
“They’ve got two of the best players in the world. We’re all too familiar with how lethal they are as a team. They’ve gotten better this year. They’ve got more depth. They’ve got more shooting.”-Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle (h/t Jamal Collier, ESPN)
“A team like the Indiana Pacers, they’re going to keep on playing hard, they’re going to keep on trying to create open threes and trying to get downhill and try to keep on playing fast. You’ve got to be ready to play a 48-minute basketball game.”-Giannis Antetokounmpo (h/t Associated Press)
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Prediction
No matter how the series plays out, head coach Doc Rivers and the Bucks deserve at least some credit for what they’ve been able to accomplish this season. They could’ve folded at several points, due to factors both within and beyond their control, but had new heroes rise at different points and even emerged with some in-season hardware to showcase.
Alas for Milwaukee, the NBA Playoffs are not a realm of moral victories and its top-heavy nature favors the star-studded—and, perhaps more importantly, the healthy. Indiana’s headliners are firing on all cylinders and are aching for a chance to gain entry into the NBA penthouse, anticipating an invite that was perhaps delayed due to injuries that turned the 2024 conference final matchup against Boston into a lopsided affair. No series involving the Bucks is ever assured thanks to the continued presence of Antetokounmpo but, for the time being, it’s Indianapolis’ time to shine.
Pacers in 6
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Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
