Moments after Indiana finished a dominant win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was already looking ahead.
The Pacers never trailed after taking the lead early in the first quarter, but Carlisle cautioned his team about becoming overconfident entering Game 2 of the best-of-seven series Tuesday in Indianapolis.
“The series is one-seventh over, and Game 2 will be monumentally more difficult than this one,” Carlisle said. “Everybody on our team has got to be armed and dangerous. Striking the right balance is everything for our team.”
Indiana claimed the 1-0 lead with a 117-98 win on Saturday. Pascal Siakam scored 25 points, Myles Turner added 19 and Andrew Nembhard had 17 for Indiana, which led by as many as 28 points and shot 51.9 percent from the field.
Milwaukee lacked scoring options in the opener. Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 36 points and 12 rebounds, was a one-man show but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Pacers. The Bucks trailed 67-43 at the half.
“It wasn’t us,” Antetokounmpo said of his assessment of the way Milwaukee played in Game 1. “I think we’re gonna be better. In the second half we were better. They only scored 50 points in the second half. We were way better in the second half. Hopefully we can carry over to the next game and do what we do, guys feel more comfortable out there.”
Bucks guard Damian Lillard could return Tuesday after missing Game 1. He was cleared of deep vein thrombosis in his right calf, but the Bucks are weighing how quickly to advance this stage of his recovery. Lillard last played on March 18 against the Golden State Warriors.
The 34-year-old Lillard has been practicing with the team and even received a technical foul after arguing with Siakam from the bench late in Game 1. Lillard has been a full participant in practice since Thursday.
Head coach Doc Rivers said the Bucks are “hopeful” they’ll have Lillard on the court during the series.
Even after Lillard returns, Milwaukee faces a tough matchup against an Indiana team that is 16-3 at home since the All-Star break, including Game 1.
“It’s a team that plays really good basketball, it’s a team that you gotta compete,” Antetokounmpo said. “They’re not going to give it to you. You gotta go out there and take it from them. And I think just to simplify things: In order for us to win the series we gotta win on the road. So, simple. We just gotta figure out a way to win.”
The Pacers held Milwaukee’s four starters besides Antetokounmpo to a total of 14 points on 5-of-20 (25 percent) shooting in Game 1, but Turner said there is still room for improvement.
“That’s what Game 1 is all about,” Turner said. “Get your baseline and make your adjustments and improve from there. Glad to have gotten a dose of where we’re at right now. Now we watch film, get two days of evaluating and make our adjustments from here.”
Indiana succeeded in slowing down Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma, who went scoreless in 21 minutes on 0-of-5 shooting on Saturday.
The Pacers also limited Milwaukee to 24.3 percent (9 of 37) shooting from 3-point range after the Bucks entered the playoffs as the best 3-point shooting team in the league at 38.7 percent.
Lillard’s imminent return should provide an immediate boost. The nine-time All-Star averaged 24.9 points and 7.1 assists in 58 games this season.
