Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers are one win away from the NBA Cup.
As the NBA’s first-ever season tournament moved to Las Vegas for the semifinals, Indiana opened the action with a thrilling 128-119 victory over Milwaukee. In the victory, Haliburton continued his rise to stardom, finishing with 27 points, 15 assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes of action.
The Pacers scored 128 points despite shooting just 7 of 33 (21.2 percent) from deep, thanks in large part to Myles Turner’s 26 points and 10 rebounds and three other double-digit scorers.
On the other side, the Bucks were led by 37 points and 10 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Damian Lillard finished with just 24 points on 7-of-20 shooting after a rough first half.
Since this counts as a regular season game, Indiana improves to 12-8 on the season while Milwaukee falls to 15-7. The Pacers are now waiting for the winner of the West semi-final between the Lakers and the Pelicans.
The Sporting News followed updates and highlights from Thursday’s in-season tournament semifinal between Milwaukee and Indiana.
MORE: The photo that shows Tyrese Haliburton as a superstar
Score Bucks vs. Pacers
Team | T1 | T2 | T3 | T4 | Final |
Deer | 29 | 22 | 43 | 25 | 119 |
Pacers | 27 | 36 | 28 | 37 | 128 |
Bucks vs Pacers Results, Tournament Semifinal Highlights in 2023 Season
All times are Eastern.
Final: Pacers 128, Bucks 119
7:43 p.m.: Boom baby.
The Pacers will remain perfect in the in-season tournament to advance and play for the NBA Cup, where they will face either the Lakers or Pelicans.
7:37 p.m.: Tyrese. Haliburton.
Indiana’s rising superstar just drained what could be a dagger 3 to give his team an eight-point lead with less than a minute remaining.
TYRESE HALIBURTON, ARE YOU FUCKING UP?!
27 PTS, 15 AST ????
???? Pacers/Bucks on ESPN
???? The winner advances to the championship in Las Vegas on Saturday pic.twitter.com/fr6PhgMj21-NBA (@NBA) December 8, 2023
Haliburton has 27 points and 15 assists as the Pacers are on the verge of punching their ticket to the championship game.
Pacers 122, Bucks 114
7:31 p.m.: Myles Turner drains a pair of free throws to give Indiana a three-point advantage with 3:26 left in regulation. Turner is up to 24 points with seven rebounds and two assists.
Time out on the ground.
Pacers 113, Bucks 110
7:20 p.m.: Andrew Nembhard, Indiana’s sophomore guard who is up to eight points in this one, was injured on a fast layup attempt. Tyrese Haliburton was able to get a takedown on that miss, but the Pacers called a timeout.
Indiana leads by one with 6:57 left in regulation.
Pacers 105, Bucks 104
7:15 p.m.: Indiana and Milwaukee go back and forth to open this final frame.
Timeout on the floor as the Pacers hold a one-point lead early in the fourth.
Pacers 101, Bucks 100
End of third trimester: Bucks 94, Pacers 91
7:03 p.m.: Phew… We’re going to need a breather after this third quarter.
The Bucks scored 43 (!) points in the third quarter and took a three-point lead in the final quarter.
Damian Lillard stole the show in the third, scoring 16 points in the quarter to bring his total to 20 points in the game. Giannis Antetokounmpo has 31 points through three quarters, leading all scorers.
For Indiana, Tyrese Haliburton has 20 points and 12 assists while Myles Turner has 20 points and five rebounds.
Buckle up for an exciting fourth quarter.
7:01 p.m.: This game is getting back to the pace we expected at the start.
A third quarter scored by the Bucks turned the game in their favor, but the Pacers are there. Giannis Antetokounmpo has just made two free throws to bring his total to 31 points in three quarters.
Tyrese Haliburton leads the way for the Pacers with 20 points and 11 assists.
Bucks 92, Pacers 88
6:45 p.m.: Dame Time starts a little earlier in Las Vegas.
Damian Lillard is up to 14 points in the third quarter alone, bringing his total to 18 points in the game. Behind Lillard’s hot shot, the Bucks regained the advantage. Milwaukee has a lead of four midway through the third.
Timeout Indiana.
Bucks 76, Pacers 72
6:33 p.m.: It was quick.
Damian Lillard drains a 3 to cut the deficit to nine and Rick Carlisle calls a Pacers timeout just 52 seconds into the second half. Indiana will talk things out less than a minute into the quarter.
Pacers 63, Bucks 54
Halftime: Pacers 63, Bucks 51
6:18 p.m.: Indiana trailed Milwaukee by 14 points in the second quarter and took a 12-point lead into halftime.
The stars shined early, as Tyrese Haliburton had 11 points and seven assists to lead the way for the Pacers. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounpmo has 20 points and six rebounds at halftime.
Damian Lillard, however, struggled, scoring just four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
6:08 p.m.: A quick Indiana sprint has a double-digit lead.
Obi Toppin’s back-to-back buckets brought his total to 10 points in the game, matching the Pacers’ lead.
Milwaukee timeout with 3:09 left in the first half.
Pacers 54, Bucks 44
6:03 p.m.: The Pacers are still ahead, but Giannis Antetokounmpo is doing what he does best.
Antetokounmpo just punctuated a run with a left-handed dunk before Myles Turner could contest. Antetokounmpo hits a game-high 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting.
Giannis with the southpaw THROWDOWN????
16 PTS in the 1H ????
???? Pacers/Bucks on ESPN
???? The winner advances to the championship in Las Vegas on Saturday pic.twitter.com/xKPHz6wwG1-NBA (@NBA) December 7, 2023
The Pacers still lead by five points with 4:19 left in the half. Turner leads Indiana with 11 points while Tyrese Haliburton has nine points and four assists.
Pacers 49, Bucks 44
5:52 p.m.: It’s the TJ McConnell Show at T-Mobile Arena.
McConnell came off the bench to score seven points, dish out two assists and snag two steals in just seven minutes of action. Indiana is plus-four with McConnell on the floor and takes a four-point lead into this timeout.
Pacers 38, Bucks 34
End of first quarter: Bucks 29, Pacers 27
5:41 p.m.: The first quarter of the first semifinal is over and Milwaukee leads by two.
Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 10 points led the way for the Bucks, while Damian Lillard was scoreless after missing all six of his field goal attempts. Khris Middleton scored seven points on perfect 3-of-3 shooting.
Tyrese Haliburton set the table with six points and three assists, but Myles Turner matched Antetokounmpo’s highest total with 10 points while shooting 4 of 6 from the field.
5:30 p.m.: Things slowed down before the second break but the Bucks remained in the lead.
Milwaukee leads by three with 4:13 left in the first period.
It’s mostly about the big men as Myles Turner leads all scorers with 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s eight points lead the way while Brook Lopez isn’t far behind with six points .
Bucks 23, Pacers 20
5:22 p.m.: Unsurprisingly, the pace was fast at the start and the Bucks had a seven-point lead from the start.
Giannis Antetokounmpo leads the way with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and as a team, Milwaukee is shooting 7-of-11 (63.5%) from the field, including 3-of-4 (75.0%) from deep.
The Pacers are led by Tyrese Haliburton, who has six points, one rebound and one assist. As a team, Indiana is 6 of 10 from the field but has yet to connect from deep.
We are less than five minutes from the game.
Bucks 19, Pacers 12
5:15 p.m.: Myles Turner throws the ball to Obi Toppin, who puts Indiana first on the board with a finish to the rim.
Play in Las Vegas.
Pre-match
4:30 p.m.: Starting for the Bucks: Damian Lillard, Malik Beasley, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez.
Starting for the Pacers: Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield, Bruce Brown, Obi Toppin and Myles Turner.
2:45 p.m.: The red carpet is laid, the stars are out and it’s almost time for the first of two semi-final matches to begin.
Lady x Giannis
The Bucks walked the red carpet ????
MIL-IND | In-season tournament semi-finals | 5 p.m./hour on ESPN ???? pic.twitter.com/lQu3Y4OX4p
-NBA (@NBA) December 7, 2023
MORE: Rick Carlisle built the best offense in history by trusting Tyrese Haliburton
Bucks vs. Pacers start time
- Date: Thursday December 7
- Time: 5 p.m. ET | 2:00 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Bucks vs Pacers will kick off around 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 7. The match will be played at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
What channel are Bucks vs. Pacers?
- Date: Thursday December 7
- TV channel: ESPN
- Live broadcast : Sling TV
Bucks vs Pacers will air on ESPN. Viewers can also stream the game on Sling TV.
Fans in the United States can watch the biggest games of the 2023-24 NBA season on Sling TV, now offering HALF OFF your first month! Sling basic plans (Sling Orange or Sling Blue) start at just $20 for your first month, or you can get Sling Orange + Blue starting at $27.50 for your first month.
There are no long-term contracts and you can change your channel lineup at any time. DVR is included with thousands of on-demand shows and movies.
NBA In-Season tournament schedule, bracket
Monday December 4
Results |
Pacers 122, Celtics 112 |
Pelicans 127, Kings 117 |
Tuesday December 5
Results |
Bucks 146, Knicks 122 |
Lakers 106, Suns 103 |
Thursday December 7
Game |
Pacers 128, Bucks 119 |
Lakers 133, Pelicans 89 |
Saturday December 9
Game | Time (ET) | National television |
Lakers vs. Pacers | 8:30 p.m. | ABC |