The Milwaukee Bucks have officially locked in their first round matchup for the upcoming NBA Playoffs. For the second straight year, the Bucks will be facing the Indiana Pacers in the opening round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs.
Milwaukee Bucks Defeat Detroit Pistons to Secure the 5th Seed in the East
Entering Friday, the Milwaukee Bucks still had the possibility of relinquishing the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference to the Detroit Pistons. Detroit would need to beat Milwaukee twice in a row to close the season and leap them in the standings, but that was not in the cards. When the Indiana Pacers fell to the Orlando Magic and the Bucks defeated Detroit 125-119, it meant the series was confirmed.
A triple-double by Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee past the feisty Pistons. His 32 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists were supported by five other double-digit scorers. Kevin Porter Jr. continued his hot form with 17 points, while Bobby Portis, recently back from suspension, had 17 and 10 boards.
One of the biggest separators in an overall even game was the free-throw disparity. Milwaukee made 22 of their 27 attempts from the foul line, whereas the Detroit shot 18 free throws but only converted 9 of them. Pistons big man Jalen Duren was a woeful 1-6 from the charity stripe. Antetokounmpo was 10-11 on the night.
The Milwaukee Bucks and Indiana Pacers Are Facing Off Again
Last year’s 3-seed vs 6-seed matchup is now being replicated as the 4-seed vs 5-seed matchup. The Bucks and Pacers were first round opponents in 2024, and although Milwaukee had home-court advantage, were eliminated in six games by a Pacers outfit that would go on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
This year, Indiana has the home-court advantage. In last year’s series, the Pacers won all 3 games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse and only needed to steal one game at Fiserv Forum to secure their advance. The Bucks lost home-court when they dropped game 2, and never were able to put together a road win.
The most distinct difference this year is that Antetokounmpo is healthy. Last year, Giannis missed the entire postseason with a calf issue.
The 2024-25 Bucks finished an even 20-20 on the road this year. In their four matchups with Indiana, Milwaukee won three of them, with the one loss being a road game in early March. Both teams were fully healthy for all four matchups. Three of the four contests were decided by single-digits, including a 115-114 win by Indiana. The lone outlier was a 129-117 win by Milwaukee in November.
Antetokounmpo averaged over 33 points per game in the three wins. In the lone loss, the Greek Freak has 17 rebounds but only 14 shot attempts, which resulted in 19 points.
Last year’s matchup featured two teams in the top 10 in pace. This year, Indiana has moved from 2nd in the league in pace to 8th, while Milwaukee is down from 8th to 14th.
The Bucks have shot a better percentage from three-point land in each of their four games against the Pacers, but will continue to need to match Indiana’s volume in order to contend with them. In each of their losses in last year’s playoffs, Indiana did not always shoot a better percentage, but made more triples than Milwaukee did.
Milwaukee’s bench was severely outplayed by Indiana’s last year, but has been revitalized during 2025. New additions Kevin Porter Jr., Kyle Kuzma, and Gary Trent Jr. will help the Bucks combat the effective Pacers bench, led by TJ McConnell, Obi Toppin, and Bennedict Mathurin. Mathurin was injured for the entire postseason last year and will be a new challenge for the Bucks to contend with.
The other significant personnel development is Damian Lillard, who does not appear to be available for the foreseeable future. The Bucks will likely be underdogs in the series because of this.
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