INDIANAPOLIS — Myles Turner scored 29 points, Tyrese Haliburton added 24 and the Indiana Pacers made a franchise playoff record 22 3-pointers as they pulled away late for a 126-113 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night.
The win gave the Pacers a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. Indiana has won three straight since losing the opener and can reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014 — with a win Tuesday at Milwaukee.
Indiana is 7-2 this season against the Bucks, who are trying to avoid a second straight first-round exit.
Haliburton posted a career playoff scoring high for the second straight game while Turner matched a playoff career high that he set in Friday night's overtime win. Turner also had nine rebounds and four assists against a Bucks squad that was missing two injured All-Stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard.
It's unclear if either will be available in Game 5. Antetokounmpo hasn't played since straining his left calf April 9. Lillard injured his Achilles tendon Friday night and had a protective walking boot covering his right foot this weekend.
Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
But the Bucks depth took even bigger hits with Middleton playing much of the second half with four fouls and forward Bobby Portis Jr. being ejected with 5:01 left in the first quarter after he and Andrew Nembhard were involved in a shoving match. Portis drew two technical fouls on the play, part of a six-technical first half.
Still, the Pacers struggled to take advantage, finishing the back-and-forth first half with just a 67-64 lead.
But after Lopez's opened the third quarter with a basket, Haliburton responded with three straight 3s to give the Pacers a 76-66 lead. The Bucks never completely recovered as Indiana extended the margin to 95-78 on Obi Toppin's layup with 2:24 left in the quarter.
Milwaukee opened the fourth with seven straight points to close to 98-92. Indiana answered with a 10-2 run to rebuild a 108-94 cushion with 7:25 to play and the Bucks couldn't get within single digits the rest of the game.
Nembhard finished with 15 points and nine assists for the Pacers and Pascal Siakam added 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
Malik Beasley added 20 points for Milwaukee.
Indiana 126, Milwaukee 113
MILWAUKEE (113) — Middleton 9-22 7-8 25, Portis 2-4 0-0 4, Lopez 12-18 0-4 27, Beasley 8-12 0-0 20, Beverley 3-6 2-2 9, Beauchamp 1-2 0-0 2, Crowder 1-4 0-0 2, Gallinari 3-5 0-0 6, T.Antetokounmpo 0-0 0-0 0, Connaughton 2-6 0-0 4, Green 3-7 0-0 8, Jackson Jr. 2-4 0-0 6. Totals: 46-90 9-14 113.
INDIANA (126) — Nesmith 3-6 4-4 13, Siakam 6-14 1-3 13, Turner 10-17 2-6 29, Haliburton 8-16 3-3 24, Nembhard 6-9 0-0 15, Jackson 0-3 0-0 0, McDermott 1-2 0-0 3, Toppin 6-9 0-0 13, Walker 0-0 0-0 0, McConnell 4-11 0-0 8, Sheppard 2-2 2-2 8. Totals 46-89 12-18 126.
Milwaukee 33 31 21 28 — 113
Indiana 33 34 31 28 — 126
3-Point Goals—Milwaukee 12-33 (Beasley 4-7, Lopez 3-5, Jackson Jr. 2-4, Green 2-6, Beverley 1-1, Beauchamp 0-1, Portis 0-1, Connaughton 0-2, Crowder 0-2, Middleton 0-4), Indiana 22-43 (Turner 7-9, Haliburton 5-12, Nembhard 3-4, Nesmith 3-5, Sheppard 2-2, McDermott 1-2, Toppin 1-2, McConnell 0-3, Siakam 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Milwaukee 42 (Middleton 10), Indiana 38 (Siakam, Turner 9). Assists—Milwaukee 26 (Jackson Jr. 7), Indiana 33 (Nembhard 9). Total Fouls—Milwaukee 18, Indiana 18. A—17,274 (20,000).