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The Milwaukee Bucks are on the brink of playoff elimination sooner than predicted.
And it could be without their top two players in the lineup.
Third-seeded Milwaukee aims to continue its season Tuesday night when it hosts the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of an Eastern Conference first-round series. Sixth-ranked Indiana leads the series 3-1.
The Bucks were without two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for the entire series and lost star guard Damian Lillard to an injury late in Game 3.
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said whoever is available for the Bucks should narrow their focus to Tuesday’s game in a must-win game. Antetokounmpo and Lillard were listed as questionable on Monday evening’s injury report.
“One game at a time,” Rivers said. “We have two games left at home. They have one game left at home. That’s how you see it. First we have to win the first game at home. We can talk about the rest later.”
The Bucs missed Antetokounmpo badly in the series, but his teammates understand he couldn’t get physical against Indiana.
“He’s the ultimate team player, but obviously we don’t want him to be in any danger,” Milwaukee center Brook Lopez said. “He’s going through all the rehab stuff, handling it the right way, getting his treatment. He’s around the team, which is great for us.
“For the guys going into Game 5, we have to prepare the way we’re preparing, and we’ll see what happens. We want Giannis to do whatever smart thing he does.”
Lillard averaged 32.3 points in the first three games of the series. Khris Middleton averaged 26.3 with an average of 42 for the Bucks.
The Pacers dropped the first game of the best-of-seven series before winning the last three contests. Indiana scored 94 points in its loss and averaged 124 points in its three victories.
Star guard Tyrese Halliburton has noticed the difference.
“Game 1, I felt like he dictated the tempo. I’d say we’ve had the story the last three games,” Halliburton said. “In a world and a league that says, ‘Oh, you can’t play fast in the playoffs,’ we don’t really believe that. We’re going to be ourselves and put our mark and our stamp every game.”
Halliburton made five 3-pointers and scored 24 points in Sunday’s 126-113 game. Myles Turner was the biggest star with 29 points, nine rebounds and seven 3-point baskets.
Chuck Person, Reggie Miller, Paul George and Bojan Bogdanovic tied the franchise mark with seven treys in a playoff game.
“He was sensational on both ends of the floor,” Pacers big man Pascal Siakam said of Turner. “Playing with a lot of maturity and strength, that’s what we need from him. … Being a beast on both ends. He’s been fantastic.”
Guard TJ McConnell echoed Siakam’s thoughts.
“He’s been doing that all year,” McConnell said of Turner. “He’s just the anchor of our defense and he doesn’t match up to a lot of teams the way he can come out and make shots. … He was obviously really good and those fans deserved to call his name. He played really well.”
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