The Indiana Pacers advanced to the second round of the playoffs after staging a comeback over the Milwaukee Bucks and winning 119-118 in overtime Tuesday night.
The Bucks held a 118-111 lead with 40 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Pacers stormed back. Indiana sealed Milwaukee’s epic collapse with Tyrese Haliburton’s layup with 1.3 seconds left in overtime. The Pacers next play the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept the Miami Heat.
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In New York, the Detroit Pistons forced their series against the Knicks to a Game 6 with a 106-103 win. The series returns to Detroit for Game 6 on Thursday.
The Boston Celtics closed their series against the Orlando Magic with a 120-89 win. Orlando lost Paolo Banchero in the third quarter after his fifth foul, allowing Boston to dominate in the game’s second half and advance to the next round.
Meanwhile, the Denver Nuggets took a 3-2 series lead over the LA Clippers with a 131-115 home win. Denver can finish the series with a Game 6 victory in Los Angeles on Thursday.
Here are the takeaways from Tuesday’s action:
Pacers 119, Bucks 118, OT
(Indiana wins series 4-1)
Indiana shows grit in chasing down Milwaukee
It took an extra five minutes of play, but the Pacers closed out the chippy series at home against the Bucks with a win that was all heart, hustle and muscle to keep their record at Gainbridge perfect in the postseason.
Milwaukee got off to a 13-0 start. The Pacers were held scoreless until center Myles Turner hit a 3-point jump shot to put them on the board with 7:30 to play in the first period. Shots weren’t falling for Indiana, which played from behind as the Bucks built a 20-point lead. The Pacers shot just 24 percent from the field and 12 percent from 3 in the first. In the second quarter, though, the Pacers’ defense appeared more connected as they slowly chipped away at the lead and pulled within six points.
Indiana came out of the locker room with renewed energy, and the home crowd stood on its feet as the Pacers mounted a comeback to tie the score by the end of the third. The fourth quarter saw the lead go back and forth, with the intensity in the arena rising.
The Pacers had six players in double figures. Haliburton had a team-high 26 points, and Myles Turner added 21. Aaron Nesmith finished with 19, and T.J. McConnell had 18 off the bench. Aaron Nembhard had 15 and Pascal Siakam 10. — Shakeia Taylor, NBA staff writer
HALIBURTON LAYUP FOR THE GAME AND THE SERIES!!!
PACERS MOVING ON. pic.twitter.com/K5KkvAFaot
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
Milwaukee sunk by sloppy play
After playing on their heels for much of the series, the Bucks started Game 5 with physical switching defense on the Pacers and took a 20-point lead just moments into the second quarter. Indiana struggled with the Bucks’ physicality and couldn’t find an offensive rhythm to start the game, but fought its way back and trailed by only six points at the half.
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In the second half, the Pacers took only three minutes to take a lead and start what turned into a back-and-forth battle. Eventually, the lead changed hands 12 times, and the score was tied on 10 separate occasions, including when it went to overtime after Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer with the score tied at 103.
And then, Gary Trent Jr. happened. The Bucks’ starting shooting guard nailed four 3-pointers in overtime, including multiple contested looks. He hit eight of his last nine 3s for the game and nearly single-handedly staved off elimination for the Bucks with a massive overtime period, but the Bucks turned it over twice in the last 30 seconds and gave the game away to close it. Milwaukee’s sloppy play to close out the game handed the game to the Pacers. — Eric Nehm, Bucks beat writer
Pistons 106, Knicks 103
(New York leads series 3-2)
Ausar Thompson steps up for Detroit
If the Pistons want any chance to return to Madison Square Garden for Game 7, Thompson’s level of play in Game 5 must be the standard in Game 6. With his defense on Jalen Brunson, his consistent scoring from the dunker spot and his work on the boards, he was one of Detroit’s keys to victory.
Thompson trailed only Cade Cunningham, who had a game-high 24 points, with 22 of his own on 8-of-10 shooting, seven rebounds and two blocks. It was easily the best playoff game of his young career. After logging just 2:44 fourth-quarter minutes in Game 4, the fewest of any Detroit starters, Thompson made it impossible for coach J.B. Bickerstaff to take him off the floor down the stretch.
CADE SQUEEZES IT IN.
THOMPSON FINISHES.
Detroit goes up 6 late on TNT! pic.twitter.com/J2fBdzgrYV
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
Thompson, a 22-year-old wing, combined his offensive assertiveness with his athleticism and seemed to be in the right place at the right time consistently. He has shown flashes of possessing this potential, but in Game 5’s win, that potential was actualized. — Hunter Patterson, Pistons beat writer
New York’s offense falters in Game 5
The Knicks haven’t ended a playoff series at home since 1999, and, at this point, fans probably don’t care where it ends as long as the team wins.
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New York had a chance to end the series in five games against the Pistons on Tuesday night, but it failed and set up a Game 6 matchup in Detroit.
Credit to the Pistons’ defense, but the Knicks’ offense was nowhere near as sharp as it has been at times in this series. New York shot 43.3 percent from the field, 36.0 percent from 3 and 59.3 percent from the free-throw line. Despite a monster game from New York’s Mitchell Robinson, the Pistons intentionally fouled the big man, and it paid off. He was just 3-for-7 from the charity stripe.
The Knicks need more consistent offense from Mikal Bridges, who is shooting 42.6 percent from the field in this series. He hit some big shots late in Game 5 for New York but struggled through the first three quarters. Star guard Jalen Brunson, who has been tremendous in this series, went only 4-of-16 from the floor.
Brunson and Josh Hart appeared to suffer injuries late in the game, but both checked back in. — James L. Edwards III, Knicks beat writer
Celtics 120, Magic 89
(Boston wins series 4-1)
Orlando goes down after Banchero’s fouls
It’s easy to pinpoint Game 5’s turning point that the Magic and their fans will point to, perhaps for years.
The key stretch occurred early in the third quarter with Orlando ahead 51-47. Paolo Banchero picked up his third foul with 11:20 remaining in the quarter, his fourth with 11:05 to go and his fifth on a Jaylen Brown layup with 9:46 left in the period. When Jamahl Mosley’s coach’s challenge failed on the fifth foul, Mosley had no choice but to sub out Banchero.
The score was tied 53-53 at the time of Banchero’s substitution. By the time the quarter ended, with Banchero still on the bench, Boston was ahead 83-62.
That’s a 30-9 Celtics run. The Magic couldn’t muster any offense with Banchero off the floor for an extended period, and Boston finally heated up from long range.
The Celtics are the better team and the defending NBA champs for a reason: They’re superb. They also carried a 3-1 series lead into Tuesday night. Even if Boston had lost Game 5, it would’ve remained the clear favorite to win the series.
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But the Magic were playing their best all-around game of the series up until the flurry of fouls by Banchero. According to ESPN’s win-probability meter, when Orlando took a 51-47 lead, the team had a 50.6 percent chance of winning Game 5.
For the Magic, this will sting throughout the offseason. — Josh Robbins, NBA senior writer
Orlando limits Boston’s bench
It was jarring to see the Celtics go the entire first half without making a single 3-pointer. It might have been even more jarring to see them enter halftime with only six 3-point attempts. Even while winning the series in five games, the team never found ways to untrack their offense until Paolo Banchero picked up his fifth foul early in the third quarter of Game 5.
Before that, the Magic could completely take away the 3-point line and severely limit the Boston bench.
Will other teams steal Orlando’s blueprint? Every team should try to do it, but it’s much easier to line out the game plan on the whiteboard than to execute it on the court.
The Magic were big, physical and versatile enough to force the Celtics out of their usual style. Not every team would have the same success as the second-ranked Orlando defense did throughout this series, but some future opponents would have a chance. In one example, the Oklahoma City Thunder have the personnel to try a similar plan if they meet the Celtics in the NBA Finals. — Jay King, Celtics beat writer
Looking ahead for the Celtics
Orlando always brings out a different side of Boston. The Magic aren’t just tough and physical, but downright hostile without teetering over the edge. They know how to hand-check, bump and find every little way to beat up their opponent. The Celtics will be better for it on their playoff run, having to tighten and toughen up to handle every jab the Magic threw at them.
It was apparent in that third-quarter run by the Celtics, as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum knew how they wanted to get to the line. They were able to rack up fouls on Banchero, taking him out of the game. The Celtics pounced on that opening and ended the series in just a few minutes.
THIS JAYLEN BROWN IN & OUT 😳
Magic (1-3) Celtics on NBA TV pic.twitter.com/k5r0824cmP
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
Whoever wins the Knicks-Pistons series is going to bring more tension and toughness to the table. The Pistons are built to bring the physicality as well as anyone, while things are bound to get testy if the Celtics and Knicks reunite in the postseason. It’s hard for a defending champion to get emotionally revved up in the first round. It is oftentimes too easy, and that means the wake-up call has to come when the talent gap gets smaller in later rounds.
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But the Celtics saw their blood in this series. There is a reminder etched into Kristaps Porzingis’ forehead. They had to fight their way through it, sticking to their principles as the Magic tried to push them away from their comfort zone. The Celtics saw it out, finished in style and look primed to make a run. — Jared Weiss, NBA staff writer
Nuggets 131, Clippers 115
(Denver leads series 3-2)
Jamal Murray surging for Nuggets
This series exemplifies how quickly things can change if a team doesn’t take care of business.
Five days ago, the Clippers blew out the Nuggets and took a 2-1 lead in the first-round, best-of-seven series. LA looked like the better team, although Denver was able to steal Game 1. By Game 3, the Clippers were swarming Nikola Jokić with double-teams and bothering Murray with point-of-attack defense, and things looked bleak for the Nuggets.
Not holding on to Game 4, in which the Clippers rallied from 22 points down in the fourth quarter only to surrender the game winner to Aaron Gordon, may have forever swung this series. In Game 5, the Nuggets dominated as they had in Game 4, only this time, when the fourth quarter lead swelled to 22 points, Denver didn’t cough it up.
In a close series, the Nuggets, Jokic and Murray look like they have figured out the Clippers on both ends of the floor. Jokić and Murray are surging, while Kawhi Leonard and James Harden are regressing.
Will this series have another wild mood swing? Game 6 is in Los Angeles on Thursday. Tune in. — Tony Jones, NBA staff writer
JAMAL MURRAY PUT ON SHOW IN A PIVOTAL GAME 5!
🔥 43 PTS
🔥 8 3PM
🔥 7 AST
🔥 3 STL
🔥 17-26 FGM (65.4%)His 6th-career 40+ point postseason game leaves the @nuggets 1 win away from advancing! pic.twitter.com/NSDYhnyku4
— NBA (@NBA) April 30, 2025
Breaking down Murray’s numbers
The series has been a mixed bag statistically for Murray. He’s had three games shooting better than 50 percent field goals and three games shooting better than 40 percent 3s.
- In Game 1, Murray made 3 of 7 3s but only 7 of 20 overall.
- In Game 2, Murray made 4 of 8 3s and 9 of 17 overall, but the Clippers prevailed.
- In Game 3, Murray made only 1 of 4 3s, and even though he made 8 of 15 shots, the Clippers blew the Nuggets out.
- In Game 4, Murray was off, missing 12 of 17 shots and 4 of 5 3s. The Nuggets survived that game.
- Entering Game 5, Murray was the only Nuggets player with a positive plus-minus, as the Nuggets outscored the Clippers by 10 points in his minutes through four games.
When Murray was off the floor, the Nuggets were outscored by 43 points.
I asked Nuggets interim coach David Adelman how he felt Murray was progressing through the series and what he expected from him.
“I think he has not gotten the attention maybe that we all should be talking about,” Adelman said ahead of Tuesday’s game, pointing out how much attention Murray has from the Clippers’ defense, especially with Jokić off the floor. “They’re putting their best defender on him, they’re blitzing him, they’re hitting him in different ways. … Jamal’s (as) mentally tough as it gets, and I would expect a really good performance tonight at home.”
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That’s what Murray delivered for the Nuggets, and what a time for it with Jokić having an off night. Murray led all scorers after each quarter, scoring a game-high 43 points. It was Murray’s first 40-point game since Feb. 12, and his sixth 40-point game of his postseason career. Murray going off lifted Denver to its best offensive showing of the series, and it only needs one more win to knock out the Clippers. — Law Murray, Clippers beat writer
(Photo: Trevor Ruszkowski / Imagn Images)
