The Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks tried their best against the Indiana Pacers but still fell short in the overtime, 118-121.
With the Greek Freak still out, the team had to squeeze everything from Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton.
The duo produced what they could throughout the game, except in the fourth quarter, where Lillard struggled again.
Lillard entered the third game of the seven-game series, averaging zero points in the fourth quarter. Even in overtime, Dame Time did not happen.
Coach Doc Rivers said his superstar was playing with an Achilles issue and requested not to be used as the first option in the offense.
"Honestly, Dame was really struggling," Rivers told reporters after the game.
"In the overtime, he literally said, 'I'll be the decoy. I just can't go as far as explosion.' So I thought Dame just being out there was huge for us."
Although he is not felt in the crunch time, Dame has been producing points for the team, scoring 28, 34, and 35 in the playoffs.
Khris Middleton's heroics go to waste
For the longest time, Middleton, Antetokounmpo's tag-team partner, tried to will the Bucks to a victory as mightly as he could.
He scored 42 points, grabbed ten rebounds, and dished out five assists in the losing effort.
He hit the regulation time's buzzer-beater three-pointer to force the OT and the three-pointer in the dying seconds of the OT to tie the score at 118 before Tyrese Haliburton scored an And-1 with six seconds left in the clock.
The game remains in Indiana before returning to Fiserv Forum for Game 5.
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