Indiana Pacers ability to adjust shines in Game 6 as they close out Milwaukee Bucks

The Pacers adjusted to win on Thursday

May 2, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) shoots the ball against the Milwaukee Bucks / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers had a chance to close out the Milwaukee Bucks and win their first series in a decade on Tuesday when they played Game 5 in Milwaukee. The Pacers entered that outing up 3-1 in the series, and with both Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined for the Bucks, it felt like an opportunity for the blue and gold to close out the shorthanded hosts.

Instead, they fell flat on both ends of the court, losing the battle 115-92. The Bucks changed up their defensive game plan significantly, and the Pacers struggled with those adjustments. Indiana couldn't score and blew a 10-point first quarter lead.

Pacers center Myles Turner was asked postgame if he thought the outing felt like a missed opportunity. "Sure, yeah," he said. But Indiana is a resilient bunch, and they had a chance to bounce back for Game 6 in Indianapolis. With a day in between games, they could adjust to the Bucks new strategies and still close out the series — and this time, it was on their home floor.

Before the game, some Pacers players were quiet about what the changes could look like. "I can't tell you," wing Aaron Nesmith said of the alterations, noting that the Pacers just had to play their game. Nesmith was one of the main figures related to Milwaukee's changes. The Bucks put Brook Lopez — their starting center — on him and moved forward Khris Middleton on to Turner. That alignment came with more veterans and less youth playing in general for the Bucks, and they switched almost everything on defense. Doc Rivers' team opted to live with some mismatches if it forced the Pacers to think and slow down.

Other Indiana players were more direct about possible adjustments. "We have to try to [not] make that slow down... We need to keep moving, keep playing," guard Andrew Nembhard said. He added that the Pacers needed to attack earlier when they had a chance — keeping things in motion with tempo was the key in his eyes.

"We allowed [The Bucks adjustments] to kind of slow us down... the way they were switching, we played right into their hands to slow it down," Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton told Pacers SI. "Looking back at it, just run what you're running anyway. The mismatches and everything, we can get through the course of a possession by playing fast." Haliburton added that Indiana needed to play a quick half court offense with things like ghost screens and cuts to break down Milwaukee's new look.

Lillard was back in the lineup, so things weren't going to be exactly the same as they were in Game 5. Another smaller defender entered the mix for Milwaukee, which would make it harder for the Bucks to execute the same defensive gameplan with the same personnel.

But it was similar enough that they tried. They continued to switch when they could, and late in the second quarter, Lopez was on Nesmith again. The alignment that turned the series on its head was back. The Pacers had to break it down.

This time, they were ready for it. On one of the first possessions after Milwaukee changed their defensive matchups, Nesmith darted toward Haliburton for a ghost screen, then ran into space at the right slot. He was wide open and canned an outside shot with about three minutes to go in the first half.

It put the Pacers up by 10, a familiar feeling for the blue and gold in Game 6. Nesmith put in a layup with 8:20 to go in the second quarter to expand the blue and gold's advantage to eight, and the score margin was never closer than seven for the remainder of the outing. Not only did the Pacers adjust, they rode their game plan to a dominant victory.

"We maybe over-thought it throughout the game last time," Nembhard said of Game 5. That wasn't happening in Game 6.

"I thought our guys learned an awful lot in this series. It's hard to go through a playoff series against an experienced team like this as your first time in the playoffs," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after Game 6.

With Carlisle, who is known as a tactician, and Haliburton, who is capable of adjusting to most defensive coverages, it's not surprising that the Pacers were able to pick apart the Bucks plan. Once the team had time to sit down and look at the film, they solved the challenges Milwaukee presented.

Throughout the regular season, Indiana switched things up when they needed to. They were fast when they should have focused on tempo. They leaned on their size and defense when a slight identity shift was needed. After acquiring star forward Pascal Siakam and making other trades, the team needed to re-align once again, and they did so after settling on the right starting lineup.

When Indiana needed more pace, size, rebounding, or defense, they made the necessary changes to get those traits on the hardwood. That prepared them for the postseason, where adjustments come faster — either during or in between games.

It led to an effective Pacers team throughout the first round. They bounced back after both of their losses in the best-of-seven set and won the next game. Many rightly talk about their resiliency as a group, but the Pacers ability to adjust and modify their approach helped just as much as their mentality in this series.

"I think it kind of shows maturity," guard T.J. McConnell said of his team's ability to respond to difficulties in prior games. They did that again to close out the Milwaukee Bucks, and now the Pacers are off to the second round to face the New York Knicks.

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• Myles Turner finally reached the conference semifinals after a winding career with the Indiana Pacers. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers to face New York Knicks in 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals — Schedule, TV listings, and more. CLICK HERE.
• Tyrese Haliburton and the Pacers delivered a moment fans waited five years to see. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers crush Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 to secure first-round series victory. CLICK HERE.
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