Bucks fans, NBA world stunned after Milwaukee blows overtime lead to Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers in Game 5 of playoff series

Bucks fans, NBA world stunned after Milwaukee blows overtime lead to Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers in Game 5 of playoff series

A 20-point first-half lead wasn't enough for the Milwaukee Bucks.

A four-point lead under 1-minute to go in regulation wasn't enough for the Milwaukee Bucks.

And most shocking, a seven-point lead with 40 seconds to go in overtime wasn't enough for the Milwaukee Bucks.

In Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series on April 29, the Bucks blew all of their leads and lost to the Indiana Pacers 119-118 in the most shocking way. The Bucks' season ends at the hands of the Pacers for the second straight season at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. However, this one will hurt.

It appeared the Bucks would have enough to get this series back to Milwaukee for Game 6. The Bucks jumped out to a 13-0 lead with a new starting lineup, increased it to 30-13 after the first quarter, 33-13 early in the second, and 40-23 with 7:30 left in the half. Trending: Giannis Antetokounmpo gets into post-game fight with Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin after playoff loss, has words for Tyrese Haliburton's dad

But the Pacers clawed their way back to 47-41 at halftime as they got hot and the Bucks went cold. The lead went back and forth for much of the second half in the most thrilling game of the series before the Bucks took a 103-99 lead with 53.1 seconds to go in the game. Tyrese Haliburton, a foe of the Bucks, however, tied the game in the final seconds to force overtime.

The Bucks then built a seven-point lead at 118-111 late in overtime thanks to Gary Trent's incredible shooting display with four cold-blooded 3-pointers. But then the wheels came completely off for the Bucks at the worst time.

After Trent misplaced the ball on the other end, Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard made a quick step-up 3-pointer to bring the game within four.

Haliburton then drove the lane with ease like he did for much of the game, making the layup while being fouled. He hit the free throw to get the Pacers within one at 118-117 with 17.0 seconds left. Then Trent, who had been the hero to that point with 33 points, lost the ball again with no one around him with just 10.1 seconds remaining.

Haliburton then drove down for the game-winning lay-in, crushing Bucks' hearts again.

Bucks fans and the NBA world were stunned by the manner in which Milwaukee coughed up the game in the most unbelievable way to see its season end in the first round for the third straight year.

Bucks lose to Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers in overtime, social media reactions

The 2025 NBA playoffs are in full swing, and our NBA insiders have you covered for every game in the march to the Finals.

One Eastern Conference semifinals series is set after the No. 4 Indiana Pacers eliminated the No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks in overtime Tuesday. The Pacers advance to take on the No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept the No. 8 seed Miami Heat on Monday.

As for the other East semis series? One team is in with the No. 2 Boston Celtics ousting the No. 7 seed Orlando Magic on Tuesday. The defending champions will await the winner between the No. 3 New York Knicks and the No. 6 Detroit Pistons -- who will be heading to Game 6 in their high-drama series.

As the East playoffs continue, here's what matters most and what to watch with the second round looming.

Tuesday's games

(4) Indiana Pacers win series over

(5) The 4-1 Milwaukee Bucks Game 5: Pacers 119, Bucks 118 (OT)

What we learned:

The Pacers continued their dominance over the Bucks, rallying from a 20-point deficit in Game 5 to come back and win the series-clinching contest in overtime on a game-winning layup from Tyrese Haliburton. Indiana eliminated Milwaukee for the second consecutive season and the Pacers are 8-3 against the Bucks in the playoffs during that span.

The Pacers and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, who have the best NBA offense and recently swept the Miami Heat in their first-round series, will face off in the second round. If the Pacers can pull off an upset, they could return to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight season.

The Bucks did not go down without a fight, thanks to a 30-point, 20-rebound triple-double from Giannis Antetokounmpo and a new starting lineup that began the game on a 13-0 run. Coach Doc Rivers made a surprising change, inserting Bobby Portis, AJ Green and Kevin Porter Jr. into the starting unit in favor of Kyle Kuzma, Brook Lopez and the injured Damian Lillard. But the season ended in heartbreaking fashion with Gary Trent Jr. committing two turnovers in the final 30 seconds of OT after having just one the entire series before.

-- Jamal Collier

(2) Boston Celtics win series over

(7) Orlando Magic 4-1

Game 5: Celtics 120, Magic 89

What we learned:

The defending champion Celtics are relieved to have finished this series, despite the gentleman's sweep of the seventh-seeded Magic. The Magic feature several lengthy, aggressive defenders, and they spent the series running the Celtics off the 3-point line and bothering them with a physical, bruising defense, which continued in Game 5, making the Celtics visibly frustrated.

But Orlando is also (very) offensively challenged, and when its star forward Paolo Banchero picked up three fouls in quick succession early in the third quarter, momentum shifted in a huge way. Banchero went to the bench with 9:46 remaining in the third, and the Celtics outscored the Magic 30-9 the rest of the quarter, including closing out the third on a 24-4 run. Ballgame.

Did the Magic provide a blueprint for how to slow the Celtics' 3-point barrage? Or are they just perfectly built to do so? The latter seems more likely, as the Celtics have struggled against Orlando in recent years, but now, the Celtics can enjoy some rest before facing the winner of the Pistons-Knicks series in the next round.

-- Baxter Holmes