NBA playoffs: Pacers take 2-0 lead in Damian Lillard’s Bucks return as bad blood spills over

The NBA playoffs continue Tuesday with three Game 2s, including the Lakers return to to action against the Timberwolves after a stunning Game 1 loss at home.

• Indiana Pacers 123, Milwaukee Bucks 115

• Los Angeles Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves, 10 p.m. ET | TNT

Check out Yahoo Sports’ predictions for each first-round series, in addition to Kevin O’Connor’s ranking of the top 40 players in the NBA postseason.

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Here are the results and key takeaways from Tuesday’s games:

Pacers 123, Bucks 115

An already heated series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers intensified on Tuesday.

But Damian Lillard’s return wasn’t enough for a Milwaukee win as the Pacers held off a late Bucks rally for a 123-115 win. The Bucks mounted a 13-0 fourth quarter rally to cut a 115-100 Pacers lead to two points. But the Pacers regained their composure to hold on for the win.

The series now shifts to Milwaukee with the Pacers holding a 2-0 lead.

Lillard not limited, but struggles from the field

Lillard returned to the Bucks lineup on Tuesday for the first time since March 18th because of deep-vein thrombosis in his right calf. He started and didn’t take his first break until 2:20 remaining in the first quarter en route to playing a full starter’s allotment of xx minutes. But he struggled after halftime after scoring 11-first half points and finished the game with 14.

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The Pacers, meanwhile, jumped out to a 31-16 lead that the Bucks never threatened. This was on top of a 19-point in in Game 1 in which Indiana led by as many as 28 points. Each Pacers starters scored in double figures as Indiana shot 48.9% from the field and 44.4% (16 of 36) from 3.

Milwaukee’s offense improved after a 98-point effort in Game 1, but not nearly enough to keep pace with Indiana’s efficient attack. Doc Rivers needs to find some adjustment in Milwaukee to keep avoid digging an 0-3 hole.

These teams don’t like each other

From Halibruton’s Dame Time celebration in 2023 to Game Ball-gate days later to the Pacers upsetting the Bucks last postseason, there’s plenty of bad blood between these two division rivals.

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It’s spilled over aplenty in the first two games of the series.

Lillard mixed it up in Game 1 while in street clothes in a heated back-and-forth with Haliburton that prompted Pascal Siakam and Gary Trent Jr. to get involved.

On Tuesday, Lillard hit his first bucket of the series in the first quarter in his first action in more than a month. Haliburton swiftly responded with a 3-pointer in Lillard’s face and some words for the Bucks guard on his way back down the court.

Minutes later, Trent threw Siakam to the floor during a fight for a rebound.

Siakam popped back up and made a beeline for Trent before players and an official intervened. A brief scuffle ensued, and Trent and Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin were hit with technical fouls.

The series wasn’t five quarters old, and players were already at each other’s throats.

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Then, in the fourth quarter, Milwaukee’s Kevin Porter Jr. grabbed the foot of Indiana’s Thomas Bryant as Bryant ran down the floor, drawing a flagrant foul of unsportsmanlike conduct.

With at least two games remaining in the series, there’s plenty of potential for things to further boil over.

Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night (8 p.m. ET | ESPNU, NBATV) in Milwaukee.