Tyrese Haliburton didn't have to score to kill Bucks in Pacers' Game 1 win

Myles Turner made four three-pointers on his way to 19 points, and Pascal Siakam had 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the Indiana Pacers' 117-98 win in Game 1. Haliburton had only 10 points and didn't make a three, but he added 12 assists and seven rebounds in the win.

The Bucks stopped Haliburton's scoring, but the star guard exploited the defensive attention to shred Milwaukee with his passing instead. Indiana shot 51.9 percent for the game, with six players scoring in double figures.

Turner helped anchor the defense in this game, blocking four shots, one of which led to a fast-break bucket and another Haliburton dime.

Indiana took the opposite tack from the Bucks when dealing with Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak put up 36 points and shot 14-of-23 from the field, but he had only one assist. Two Bucks starters, Taurean Prince and Kyle Kuzma, didn't score a single point. Antetokounmpo certainly hurt the Pacers, but only as a scorer and defender, not a distributor.

Plus, Turner was there for timely defensive plays on Antetokounmpo.

Game 2 might be different, with Damian Lillard planning to return. Lillard did contribute a technical foul Saturday while jawing with Haliburton and Siakam, as the game got chippy late. Milwaukee's Pat Connaughton played only a minute, but he picked up a flagrant foul by throwing an elbow into Siakam's neck.

But having Lillard won't fix the Bucks' profound defensive issues from Game 1. Perhaps they can try to outscore the Pacers, but if they keep letting Haliburton pick them apart, this won't be a long series.