INDIANAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 Tyrese Haliburton thought he let the Indiana Pacers down in the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Turns out, he was just warming up for one of the most memorable finishes in franchise history.<\/p>\n
Indiana forced two turnovers in the final 29 seconds of overtime, and Haliburton blew past Giannis Antetokounmpo for the go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left<\/a> to close an 8-0 run that sent the Pacers past the Milwaukee Bucks 119-118 on Tuesday night for a 4-1 series victory.<\/p>\n \u201cThis one will go down as one of the all-time great Pacers wins because of the circumstances, because of what was on the line,\u201d coach Rick Carlisle said. \u201cTy, obviously, authored a big part of this ending. So congratulations to him.\u201d<\/p>\n The Pacers will face top-seeded Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 1 is Sunday.<\/p>\n Haliburton finished with 26 points and 10 assists as he improved to 9-0 in home playoff games. But after missing some open shots and a layup late in regulation, Haliburton needed his teammates\u2019 support to help the Pacers steal another series from Milwaukee. <\/p>\n Antetokounmpo tried to will his short-handed Bucks to victory, finishing with 30 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists. Gary Trent Jr. had 33 points and made four of his eight 3-pointers in overtime, but he also committed the two game-changing turnovers late in OT, and his full-court heave at the buzzer was nowhere close.<\/p>\n The Bucks have lost three consecutive first-round playoff series, the last two to Indiana, and this increasingly chippy rivalry<\/a> ended fittingly with a shoving match<\/a> between the teams at midcourt. Haliburton\u2019s father, John, sparked the fracas when he ran onto the court and started talking to Antetokounmpo.<\/p>\n Haliburton didn\u2019t even realize what happened because he was celebrating on top of the scorer\u2019s table, his arms raised, exhorting the sellout crowd wearing yellow T-shirts to scream even louder \u2014 just like former Pacers great Reggie Miller.<\/p>\n \u201cI got a little down about it,\u201d Haliburton said, referring to his misses late in regulation. \u201cBut my teammates encouraged me to stay with it. They said we would get a chance to win at the end, they would rely on me to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n He delivered.<\/p>\n But it wasn\u2019t just Haliburton.<\/p>\n Andrew Nembhard set up the decisive run by making a 3-pointer to cut a seven-point deficit to 118-114 with 34.1 seconds left. Nembhard then stole Trent\u2019s inbound pass with 29 seconds left near the sideline to set up Haliburton\u2019s three-point play that got Indiana within 118-117.<\/p>\n Then, with the Pacers pressuring the ball and the Bucks scrambling, Trent fumbled a long pass out of bounds with 10.8 seconds left to set up Haliburton\u2019s go-ahead layup.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought the turnovers obviously were huge,\u201d Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. \u201cTwo of the three were really unforced. But I thought we had two huge defensive mistakes that we made. We came out of the timeout with a foul to give. We were supposed to use it. Didn\u2019t use it. Those are the things that just kill you.\u201d<\/p>\n Myles Turner had 21 points and nine rebounds while Aaron Nesmith added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers.<\/p>\n In an effort to avoid a third straight first-round exit, Rivers plugged guards AJ Green and Kevin Porter Jr. and forward Bobby Portis Jr. into the starting lineup. The Bucks were missing 10-time All-Star Damian Lillard<\/a>, who tore his left Achilles tendon in Game 4 on Sunday night.<\/p>\n All five starters scored in double figures for Milwaukee.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to do this,\u201d Antetokounmpo said when asked if he thought he could win a second NBA title in Milwaukee. \u201cWhatever I say, I know how it\u2019s going to translate. I wish I was still playing. I wish I was still like competing and going back out there.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n