Indiana Pacers will have Gold Out theme for Game 3 vs Milwaukee Bucks tonight

The Pacers will have t-shirts for every fan

The inside of Gainbridge Fieldhouse ahead of the Indiana Pacers Game 3 playoff meeting with the Milwaukee Bucks. (Mandatory Photo Credit: AllPacers) /

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers are calling their Game 3 theme a "Gold Out" as they host the Milwaukee Bucks for first-round playoff action.

The game is tonight, and it's the first NBA postseason game in Indianapolis since April 21, 2019. That night, the Pacers dropped Game 4 of their series against the Boston Celtics, which ended the first round in a sweep. They haven't made the playoffs in a non-bubble season since.

"Atmosphere is going to be really exciting for everybody," Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton said of Game 3. He's eager to be a part of it after watching Indiana battle the Miami Heat in the playoffs with a golden theme when he was growing up.

This is the first time the Pacers will host a postseason outing since their arena was renamed to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. It was previously known as Bankers Life Fieldhouse, and it has gone through several renovations in the last five years.

One such upgrade the stadium has received is the addition of the Bicentennial Unity Plaza, an outdoor space with seating areas, a basketball court, and food and drink options, among other entertainment choices. Ahead of Game 3, the team announced a party that will be held on the plaza beginning 3.5 hours before tipoff.

Once fans get inside the building, and doors will open for the action at 4 p.m. Eastern Time, they will be able to make it to their seats and see the Gold Out theme in action. There are gold t-shirts placed on every seat for fans to wear.

Each one says "INDY is back" on it in blue lettering and contains the Pacers logo. A team of nearly 100 people began to lay out the shirts at about 10 a.m. Eastern Time this morning, and it took just under an hour for them all to be arranged.

"Just creating an atmosphere here that is a true playoff atmosphere. It's been a bit since we've been in the playoffs, so the fanbase is hungry. And they really like this team," Pacers Vice President for External Affairs and Corporate Communications Danny Lopez explained. "People love the t-shirts. The beauty is that we can wear them around town."

For Game 4, which will be on Sunday night, the Pacers will have rally towels for attending fans. In Milwaukee, the Bucks had towels for Game 1 and t-shirts for Game 2.

T-shirts will be given to each attending fan at Game 3 of the Indiana Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks 2024 first-round series. (Mandatory Photo Credit: AllPacers) /

"This is a team that the fans here in Indianapolis are just crazy about. They love the personalities, they love the players," Lopez shared of the team continuing the "Indy" theme from the regular season.

Currently, the Pacers and Bucks have a tied series at 1-1. Milwaukee took Game 1 in an outing that Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle called "embarrassing", but his team responded in a big way in Game 2. Star forward Pascal Siakam has been incredible for the blue and gold.

They will try to take a lead in the series tonight. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has been ruled out with a calf injury that has caused him to miss 2.5 weeks of action now. That gives the Pacers a major opportunity to grab another win.

"I think fans are ready to get a big win tonight and push to the next round," Lopez said.

The Pacers players are ready, too. Many of them have shared their excitement about playing in front of their home crowd in a postseason setting. It's been a while, and Myles Turner is the only player remaining on Indiana's roster from that 2019 series vs Boston.

"Scream yall's f—ing heads off man... I'm excited to be back in Gainbridge, I'm excited to be back in that sea of gold," Turner said of the fanbase after Game 2. It all begins tonight at 5:30 on ESPN and Bally Sports.

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• Pascal Siakam entered the playoffs wanting to be the Indiana Pacers leader. He left Milwaukee on top of the league. CLICK HERE.
• 'Embarrassing': Indiana Pacers have dreadful opening to playoffs in Game 1 loss to Milwaukee Bucks. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark meets Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton, gets praise from Rick Carlisle. CLICK HERE.
• Indiana Pacers use dominant Pascal Siakam outing to win Game 2 over Milwaukee Bucks, even up the series at 1-1. CLICK HERE.
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