INDIANAPOLIS >> Pascal Siakam kept it simple Saturday. He got to his spots, hit his shots and made the plays.

The three-time All-Star finished with 25 points and seven rebounds while Tyrese Haliburton added 10 points and 12 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers past the Milwaukee Bucks 117-98 for a 1-0 lead in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven first-round series.

“It’s just playing the game the way it’s supposed to be played — not a lot of thinking, just play the game,” Siakam said after going 10 of 15 from the field. “I think as long as we play the right way and we get the shots we’re supposed to get and we want to get, that’s what’s important.”

Siakam took full advantage of the festive atmosphere as Indiana hosted its first series opener since 2014.

Team officials handed out gold T-shirts that lit up Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Fans repeatedly counted the seconds it took for two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to shoot free throws and heckled Bucks forward Bobby Portis. And they roared with delight when WNBA star Caitlin Clark and others appeared on the video board.

But what they wanted — and needed most — was a fast start.

“The series is one-seventh over, and Game 2 will be monumentally more difficult than this one,” Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said, referring to Tuesday’s game. “Everybody on our team has got to be armed and dangerous. Striking the right balance is everything for our team.”

The Pacers certainly were balanced.

Myles Turner capped a 19-point, four-block performance with a late 3-pointer to seal the win after Milwaukee had cut a 28-point deficit to 107-95. Six Indiana players finished in double figures and Milwaukee made just one basket over the final 5:24.

It was eerily reminiscent of last year’s first-round series, which Indiana won 4-2.

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 36 points and 12 rebounds after missing all six games last year because of a calf injury. This time, the Bucks played without their other All-Star, Damian Lillard, who continues to work his way into game shape after battling deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He may return in Game 2.

The difference was defense.

Indiana negated Antetokounmpo’s impact over the final three quarters with traps, double teams and against defenders of all sizes. The result: Antetokounmpo had only one assist and nobody else scored more than 15 points. Plus, the Bucks, who shot a league-best 38.7% on 3-pointers, were limited to just 2 of 16 in the first half and finished 9 of 37.

But Antetokounmpo also took issue with Milwaukee’s defense.

“I think we were late, like we got into scrambling mode and they would create for the next guy and that’s what they want you to do,” he said. “We didn’t have enough urgency. Going into Game 2, hopefully we can change that.”

Jokic, Gordon fuel Nuggets’ comeback to edge Clippers 112-110 in OT in teams’ NBA playoff opener

DENVER >> Nikola Jokic scored 29 points and Aaron Gordon added 25, including a pair of free throws with 12 seconds left, and the Denver Nuggets roared back from a 15-point first-half deficit to power past the Los Angeles Clippers 112-110 in overtime Saturday in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series.

Jamal Murray added 21 points, nine boards and seven assists for the fourth-seeded Nuggets, who improved to 4-0 under interim coach David Adelman, Michael Malone’s replacement.

The No. 5 seed Clippers’ loss was their first since March 30 at Cleveland. They rolled into the playoffs having won 18 of 21, including their last eight, and they jumped out to an early lead that held until the final minutes of regulation.

Game 2 is Monday night at Ball Arena.

Russell Westbrook came up big at the end of both regulation — with an uncontested corner 3 for a 98-96 Denver lead — and again in overtime when he knocked the inbounds pass away from — and off of — James Harden with 9.6 seconds left and Denver clinging to a 3-point lead.

Jokic was fouled on the ensuing inbounds play and his two free throws made it 112-107 before Norman Powell’s buzzer 3-pointer.

The game was tied at 98 at the end of regulation.

After Westbrook’s 3-pointer from the left corner, Harden responded with a floater to tie it and the Nuggets couldn’t get off a shot in the final 18 seconds.

In overtime, the Nuggets never trailed.

Jokic had 12 assists and finished one rebound shy of a triple-double. Harden led the Clippers with 32 points. Kawhi Leonard added 27 and Ivica Zubac had 21.

These teams last met in the playoffs in 2020 at the Walt Disney World in the pandemic bubble, when the Nuggets overcame a 3-1 deficit to beat the Clippers.

Knicks use a 21-0 run in the 4th quarter to beat the Pistons 123-112 in Game 1

NEW YORK >> Jalen Brunson scored 34 points, Cam Payne had 11 of his 14 in the fourth quarter and the New York Knicks stunned the Detroit Pistons with a 21-0 run in the final period to rally for a 123-112 victory Saturday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 23 points and 11 rebounds in his first playoff game with the Knicks and OG Anunoby also scored 23 points for the No. 3-seeded Knicks. They will host Game 2 on Monday night.

The Pistons held up well for more than three quarters of their first playoff game since 2019 and had a 98-90 lead, a little more than nine minutes from ending their NBA-record, 14-game postseason losing streak.

By the time they scored again, the Knicks were ahead by 13 points, the delirious fans inside Madison Square Garden roaring louder with every Pistons miscue after they played with such poise for much of the game.

Payne converted a three-point play to start the run, Brunson scored and Payne made a 3-pointer to tie it at 98, and the onslaught would last for nearly five minutes. Payne and Brunson combined for the first 17 points before Josh Hart had the final two baskets to make it 111-98 with 4:50 remaining.

Tobias Harris scored 25 points for Detroit, but just three in the second half. Cade Cunningham had 21 points and 12 assists, but the Knicks limited the star guard to 8-for-21 shooting in his playoff debut.

Brunson, who missed 15 games late in the season with a sprained right ankle, was just 4 for 15 in the first half and appeared to be hobbling in the third quarter after tweaking his ankle again. But he changed out of his green sneakers and found another gear in the fourth along with the Knicks.

The Pistons remained winless in the postseason since Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference finals.