T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin had a fantastic game on Thursday night, complementing each other’s performance perfectly. Even after the Indiana Pacers secured a rare series victory, they were still celebrating and exchanging fist bumps.
Toppin scored 21 points, while McConnell contributed 20 points and nine assists, leading the Pacers to a dominant 120-98 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6. They now move on to face New York, who also won their game against Philadelphia 118-115, marking the Pacers’ first Eastern Conference semifinal appearance in ten years.
McConnell expressed the significance of the victory, stating, “It means a lot. Not being in the playoffs since the bubble, and not advancing since 2014, we take great pride in moving forward and extending our season. Milwaukee is a strong team, and honestly, I feel our bench competitiveness has dipped a bit. But tonight, we all went out there with the mindset to our game.”
McConnell had an outstanding performance, achieving his highest scoring total in playoffs while matching his career high in assists and making four steals, a remarkable turnaround from his disappointing Game 5 in Milwaukee.
But McConnell wasn’t going to let one bad game ruin this important moment for Indiana. The 4-2 series win came exactly 30 years after Indiana’s first NBA playoff series victory, a 3-0 win over Orlando.
“T.J. actually helped me today, told me to be aggressive, told me to be myself,” said Toppin, who also had his best scoring performance in playoffs. “Everybody did their jobs today, from the starters to the bench, everybody played well.”
The short-handed Bucks were still missing two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who hasn’t played since injuring his left calf on April 9.
Damian Lillard made a return from a strained right Achilles tendon and played decently, although not as dominantly as in the first two games when he scored 69 points. Lillard ended with 28 points on 7-of-16 shooting.
“I don’t think I would have slept well and I don’t think I would have gone into the summer well if I didn’t at least try,” Lillard said. “I came in for my pregame workout and saw all the gold shirts on the chairs and started moving around and said, ‘Let’s just do it.'”
Bobby Portis Jr. contributed 20 points and 15 rebounds for Milwaukee, with Brook Lopez adding 20 points and Khris Middleton scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds.
Two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton finished with 17 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds for the Pacers, while Pascal Siakam added 19 points and seven rebounds.
Indiana had an 8-3 record against Milwaukee, marking the Bucks’ second consecutive first-round exit. This was the first time under coach Doc Rivers — the Bucks’ third coach in 12 months.
“They’ve built a really strong team, not just young, I believe the Siakam trade will change their future,” said Rivers. “They’re a tough team. Yes, we had players out, which is tough, but let’s give them credit. I thought they played great.” The 2021 NBA champions weren’t going to let Indiana win easily, and they didn’t.
Indiana took control with a 23-3 run in the first quarter, giving them a 29-19 lead they never lost. But the Bucks kept fighting back, and the Pacers kept responding.
When Milwaukee narrowed the gap to 38-34 early in the second quarter, Indiana scored seven straight points. When the Bucks started the second half with a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 63-56, Indiana answered with a 10-5 run to push the lead to 12.
And when Milwaukee got as close as 85-78 with 6:05 left in the third, McConnell led an 11-0 run with two consecutive 3-pointers to make it 96-78 early in the fourth. “The games we won, we controlled the pace,” Haliburton said. “So we knew we had to come out and be aggressive.”
The Bucks couldn’t recover from Indiana’s final surge, which widened the lead to as much as 104-84 with 8:07 to play, prompting a celebratory atmosphere in Gainbridge Fieldhouse as the crowd cheered the Pacers with a standing ovation.
