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Proud Bucks Bucks take pride in extending Pacers
Posted: Friday May 05, 2000 12:14 AM
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Despite disappointment over a tough loss, heads were high among the Milwaukee Bucks after Thursday night's 96-95 loss to Indiana in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference series. "There's not anyone holding their heads down. We're proud of what we accomplished," said reserve Tim Thomas, who scored 18 points. "We lost to a team that was the top seed in the East by one point. We left it on the court. Reggie Miller played a great game. They made the plays when they had to." Milwaukee was trying to become the third team in league history to win a first-round series as the No. 8 seed. "I told this team they battled all the way, and I'm proud to be a member of this team," said Sam Cassell, who led the Bucks with 22 points and had six assists before fouling out with 2:30 to play on an offensive foul. "The call didn't beat us. Indiana beat us. They did what they had to do. That's what a championship team does. We weren't expected to do anything. A year ago Indiana swept Milwaukee. Those days are finished. This team is going to go forward." Ray Allen scored 18 points and was 6-of-21 from the field. "We just didn't make the right plays at the right time down the stretch," he said. "We would be sitting down celebrating if. ... There are so many possibilities. "We put ourselves in a great situation to go to Round 2. It just didn't happen. But, by no way was our team subpar to the Indiana Pacers. We pushed them to the limit ... we got national exposure for the first time. A lot of people got an opportunity to see our team and what we're all about, and hopefully we impressed a lot of people, made a lot of people fans of the Milwaukee Bucks." Darvin Ham echoed the comments of his teammates, centering on the contributions of Dale Davis and Miller. "We battled them right down to the last second. Dale Davis got some big rebounds and we had no answer for Reggie Miller. He got 41 points, and he earned them," Ham said. "He may be getting older, but he still plays like one of the greatest in the game. He certainly showed us that tonight. "This is a young team. We went against a veteran team and battled them to the last second. We made them fight to move on. Next year, this team is going to be tougher and more mature." Milwaukee lost despite having only seven turnovers. "We protected the ball well," Cassell said. "It was that last one (his offensive foul) that I'll remember for a long time, but I have no complaint about the call."
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