National Basketball Association
Indiana 128, Milwaukee 119
When: 5:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 7, 2023
Where: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials: #60 James Williams, #50 Gediminas Petraitis, #62 JB DeRosa
Attendance: 16837

Bruce Brown gave Indiana the lead for good with 6:15 remaining, Tyrese Haliburton capped a monster performance with a back-breaking 3-pointer, and the Pacers surprised the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks 128-119 Thursday in the semifinals of the NBA's inaugural in-season tournament in Las Vegas.

The victory places the Pacers in Saturday's final against the Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the New Orleans Pelicans 133-89 in Thursday's other semifinal.

Indiana led 63-51 at halftime but was down 106-105 approaching the midpoint of the fourth period after a Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk before Brown connected on his go-ahead 13-footer.

The Pacers never trailed after that, with Myles Turner contributing two baskets and two free throws, Brown another basket and four free throws, and Haliburton two baskets, including a 25-footer with 49.1 seconds remaining that extended the Indiana lead to 122-114.

Haliburton finished with a team-high 27 points and a game-high 15 assists for the Pacers, who had beaten the Boston Celtics at home in Tuesday's quarterfinals to earn the trip to Las Vegas.

Haliburton went 11-for-19 from the field in a game in which the Pacers shot 49 percent overall, easily better than the Bucks' 44.8 percent.

Turner also notched a double-double for Indiana with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Buddy Hield grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to go with eight points.

Obi Toppin added 14 points, Isaiah Jackson 11 and Brown 10 for the Pacers, who also had beaten the Bucks 126-124 at home last month.

Jackson led a five-man bench crew, all with six or more points, that outscored their Milwaukee counterparts 43-13 on Thursday.

Going 13-for-19 from the field and 11-for-13 from the free-throw line, Antetokounmpo scored a game-high 37 points to complement a team-high 10 rebounds for the Bucks, who earned a flight west by beating the New York Knicks at home in Tuesday's quarterfinals.

On Thursday, Damian Lillard chipped in with 24 points and a team-high seven assists, Khris Middleton had 20 points and Brook Lopez 18 for the Bucks, who lost despite outscoring the Pacers 36-21 on 3-pointers.

Lillard and Middleton each connected on a game-best four 3-pointers.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Indiana   Milwaukee
Tyrese Haliburton 27 Scoring Giannis Antetokounmpo 37
Tyrese Haliburton 15 Assists Damian Lillard 7
Buddy Hield 11 Rebounds Giannis Antetokounmpo 10
Myles Turner 6 Free Throws Made Giannis Antetokounmpo 11
T.J. McConnell 3 Steals Khris Middleton 2
Myles Turner 3 Blocks Brook Lopez 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Indiana 128 49.0 7-33 21-25 30 51 8 9 10
Milwaukee 119 44.8 12-33 21-28 19 46 9 3 12
Upcoming Games
  • Milwaukee will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Bucks have a W/L % of .625 after a win and .833 after a loss.
  • Indiana will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Pacers have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .750 after a loss.