Milwaukee Bucks Epic Collapse Sends Them Spiraling Into Offseason

The Milwaukee Bucks didn’t know what hit them. They stood shell-shocked on the court after the final buzzer, unsure how they failed to close out the Indiana Pacers and extend the series.

In a comedy of errors down the stretch, Milwaukee somehow blew Game 5 and missed their chance to force a Game 6 back home. Instead, they handed the series to the Pacers on a silver platter, marking their third straight first-round exit from the playoffs.

To understand how Milwaukee suffered one of the biggest collapses in playoff history, we have to rewind to the start of the game.

Doc Rivers, two steps behind Rick Carlisle all series, finally made a drastic change to his starting lineup—a move he arguably should’ve made from the beginning. He rolled out the Bucks’ best shooting group, featuring five switchable defenders: Kevin Porter Jr., AJ Green, Gary Trent Jr., Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Bobby Portis.

Milwaukee came out swinging. Their defensive intensity stunned Indiana, holding the Pacers to just 13 points in the first quarter.

The Bucks built their largest lead early in the second. With 11:26 remaining, Kyle Kuzma—coming off the bench for the first time in the series—hit a three-pointer to put Milwaukee up 33–13.

But from there, it all unraveled.

Indiana outscored the Bucks by 11 in the second quarter and by six in the third. Tyrese Haliburton took over, slicing through Milwaukee’s defense with ease. He finished with 26 points and nine assists, dominating the game by consistently getting into the paint and creating open looks for teammates.

Still, the Bucks fought back.

Antetokounmpo was sensational, recording a triple-double with 30 points, 20 rebounds, and 13 assists. AJ Green, in his first playoff start, hit six of ten threes for 19 points. Gary Trent Jr. caught fire late, scoring a game-high 33 points, including eight threes, many in crunch time.

But Milwaukee could never land the final blow.

With 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, Haliburton’s layup cut the Bucks’ lead to two. Antetokounmpo responded with a tough floater and drew a foul. The made free throw would’ve pushed the lead to five, but he missed, and Haliburton hit two free throws on the other end to bring it back to two.

With 39 seconds left, Porter Jr. brought the ball up, looking for Antetokounmpo. Oddly, Giannis waved him off. Porter Jr. went one-on-one, stepped back at the elbow—and missed.

Siakam secured the rebound and handed it off to Haliburton, who did what he had done all game: drove to the rim and finished. Tie game. Ten seconds left.

Milwaukee called timeout to set up a final shot. Giannis isolated against Myles Turner on the left wing. Rather than attacking the slower-footed big man, he settled for a tough baseline turnaround. It barely missed. Overtime.

I won’t take you through all the pain overtime brought, but Milwaukee held a seven-point lead with just 40 seconds left.

Then came the unraveling. Another missed free throw, this time by Green. A 33-foot bomb from Andrew Nembhard. Two brutal turnovers by Trent Jr. More Haliburton heroics. And suddenly, the Pacers were storming the court in celebration.

Indiana showed tremendous grit, clawing back from a 20-point first-half deficit, a four-point hole with under a minute in regulation, and a seven-point gap in overtime.

Milwaukee’s epic collapse sends them spiraling into the offseason.

Emotions are too high to assess what comes next. The Bucks face a bleak outlook, with limited cap flexibility and Damian Lillard expected to miss most, if not all, of the 2025–26 season.

For now, fans are left haunted by a parade of what-ifs. The Bucks are headed home early—again.