Pacers-Bucks first-round playoff schedule set; Game 1 tips off Saturday
Indiana opens the 2025 NBA Playoffs at home against Milwaukee on Saturday afternoon, with national broadcasts on ESPN, NBATV, and TNT throughout the first-round series.
The Indiana Pacers are in the NBA Playoffs for the second straight season — and their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks is now set.
The Pacers, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, will host the fifth-seeded Bucks in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series at 1 p.m. ET — making it the first game of the 2025 NBA postseason. It will air nationally on ESPN.
Game 2 is on Tuesday, as expected, since a concert is already scheduled at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Monday. That game will air on NBA TV.
Here is the full schedule for the Pacers-Bucks series, with all times in Eastern:
Game 5 will be at 6 PM Tuesday (April 28) and air on NBA TV.
*games, 6, 7 if necessary
EU/NTV^ = simulcast on ESPNU and NBA TV
Also of note: FanDuel Sports Network Indiana will televise all first-round games.
The Pacers went 1–3 in their season series against the Bucks — with their lone win coming from Tyrese Haliburton’s dramatic four-point play in a 115–114 victory. That was arguably the highlight of the season and ultimately gave the Pacers the edge for home-court advantage.
The team plans to wear their white City Edition uniforms for each game at The Fieldhouse after finishing the regular season 17-4 in these threads.
This is a rematch of their opening-round meeting last April. The Bucks won Game 1 in Milwaukee, but the Pacers took four of the next five games. Pascal Siakam led the team in scoring in the first two games, followed by Myles Turner leading the next two.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was unavailable for that series due to injury. A year later, it appears unlikely that guard Damian Lillard will suit up. He hasn’t played since March 18 due to deep vein thrombosis in his right calf.
The Bucks released the following statement on Tuesday: “Damian Lillard has made significant improvement on his deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. He will continue to increase his on-court basketball activity.”
Meanwhile, Bennedict Mathurin missed the end of last season and the Pacers now have a much healthier Haliburton.
Thanks for keeping us updated, Scott! Will you be going live after each game like last year?