Pacers break franchise-playoff record with 22 three-pointers to beat Bucks in Game 4

A lot has changed since the Pacers lost Game 1 against the Bucks last week. One of the biggest lessons has been embraced by Myles Turner, who understood that if you have a chance to take a big shot, you shouldn’t hesitate. 

The Indiana center has put this new strategy to the test and it has worked greatly during this first-round series, and this past Sunday was no exception. The player posted his second consecutive 29-point performance, adding 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 three-pointers that night.

With this impressive exhibition, he contributed to breaking his team’s NBA playoff record with 22 made shots from beyond the arc, the most the Pacers have ever done in a postseason scenario. The Indiana squad beat Milwaukee 126 to 113 and increased their lead to 3-1 in this best-of-seven series.

MYLES TURNER OH MY 🤯 pic.twitter.com/OQszzW08D0

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) April 29, 2024

“After that first game, we watched a lot of film and I saw some of the holes in the defense and realized there were open shots we could exploit,” Turner recalled. “A lot of it is read and react, which is pretty much what our whole offense is.”

In retrospective, Myles’ plays have changed the series over the last two matches, as both outings have seen him produced playoff-career highs. The Pacers went 22 of 43 from the deep, and the big man was 7-of-9. 

During the contest, you could even hear his name chanted by the same fans who at some point believed he deserved to be traded out. “I didn’t realize when I hit the 3 they were chanting my name. I saw it afterward,” he recognized. “But it was very special, knowing how much this city means to me and with my family here, it was very special.”

His teammate Tyrese Haliburton hit 24 points, which was his second-straight playoff career high, while Andrew Nembhard contributed with 15 points and 9 rebounds and Pascal Siakam dropped 13 points, won 9 rebounds and handed out 7 assists.

Bobby Portis Jr. suffered an early ejection from the match and his team never really recovered from it

Starting forward Bobby Portis Jr., considered one of the best defenders in the league, was ejected with 5:01 left in the first quarter after he shoved rival Andrew Nembhard. This situation meant he drew his second-technical foul on the play, which was part of a six-technical first half.

His coach lamented having lost his player so early on in Game 4. “It was a tough break for us, there’s no doubt about it,” Doc Rivers expressed about Bobby’s departure. “Playoff games are high emotion, they really are and so that happened. You can’t get it back once it happened.”

“We knew coming into the game we were going to have to trap more and do things we don’t traditionally do,” the Milwaukee tactician kept at it. “I thought we hung in there, I really did.”

The Bucks squad finally began to react and starting turning things around late in the third quarter, and started the last stage with seven straight points. By this time they were only 6 points behind, but then saw Indiana answer with a 10-2 run that sentenced the match with seven minutes left to the buzzer.