Pacers hit franchise playoff best 22 3-pointers to beat Bucks 126-113 and take 3-1 lead in series

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana center Myles Turner found a simple lesson from last week's Game 1 loss.

When you find the openings, take shots without hesitating.

Turner effectively put his new strategy to use Sunday night and it worked perfectly, again. He had his second straight 29-point game, finished with nine rebounds and four assists and made seven 3-pointers as the Pacers broke the franchise's NBA playoff record with 22 3's to beat Milwaukee 126-113 for a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

“After that first game, we watched a lot of film and I saw some of the holes in the defense and realized there were open shots we could exploit,” Turner said. “A lot of it is read and react, which is pretty much what our whole offense is.”

Turner's play over the last two games has changed the series.

He has produced playoff career highs twice and on a team of sharp-shooters Sunday night might have been the best. While Indiana went 22 of 43 from beyond the arc, Turner was 7 of 9 and even heard his name chanted by fans who once thought he should be traded.

Instead, Turner has the Pacers heading back to Milwaukee for Game 5 with three straight wins and needing one more to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time since 2014. The Bucks, meanwhile, are trying to avoid a second straight first-round exit.

Sure, the Bucks played without two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and eight-time All-Star Damian Lillard because of injuries Sunday. Antetokounmpo hasn't played since April 9 when he strained his left calf, while Lillard had a walking boot protecting his right foot after hurting his Achilles tendon in Friday night's overtime loss.

Both could miss Tuesday's game, too.

But health has been less of a problem for Milwaukee in this season series than the matchups as Indiana has won seven of nine matchups.

And it was more of the same Sunday.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 24 points, his second straight playoff career high, Andrew Nembhard finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and Pascal Siakam added 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

“We knew coming into the game we were going to have to trap more and do things we don't traditionally do,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “I thought we hung in there, I really did.”

They just couldn't even the series. Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 27 points and nine rebounds, and Khris Middleton added 25 points, 10 rebounds and five assists despite playing with a sprained right ankle and four fouls for much of the second half.

Part of the problem was depth, which could prove tricky again Tuesday night.

Middleton hurt his left ankle during the second half, backup guard Pat Connaughton injured his ribs and starting forward Bobby Portis Jr. was ejected with 5:01 left in the first quarter after he and Andrew Nembhard were involved in a shoving match. Portis drew two technical fouls on the play, part of a six-technical first half.

“It was a tough break for us, there's no doubt about it,” Rivers said when asked about Portis' early departure. “Playoff games are high emotion, they really are and so that happened. You can't get it back once it happened.”

Still, the Pacers struggled to take advantage, finishing the back-and-forth first half with just a 67-64 lead.

But after Lopez opened the third quarter with a basket, Haliburton responded with three straight 3-pointers to give the Pacers a 76-66 lead. The Bucks never completely recovered as Indiana extended the margin to 95-78 on Obi Toppin's layup with 2:24 left in the quarter.

Milwaukee finally started cutting into the deficit late in the third quarter and opened the fourth with seven straight points to make it 98-92.

Indiana answered with a 10-2 run to rebuild a 108-94 cushion with 7:25 to play and Turner helped put it away with a couple of late 3-pointers before both teams put their starters on the bench.

“I didn't realize when I hit the 3 they were chanting my name. I saw it afterward," Turner said. “But it was very special, knowing how much this city means to me and with my family here, it was very special.”

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Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) defends Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez (11) during the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton (22) makes a pass against Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) and Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton (22) is fouled by Indiana Pacers' T.J. McConnell (9) during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton puts up a shot during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo cheers on his teammates during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series against the Indiana Pacers, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton (22) shoots over Indiana Pacers' Aaron Nesmith (23) during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Pat Connaughton (24) goes to the basket against Indiana Pacers' Tyrese Haliburton (0) as Khris Middleton sets a pick during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Pascal Siakam (43) shoots over Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez (11) and Malik Beasley during the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton is defended by Indiana Pacers' Aaron Nesmith during the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Bobby Portis (9) and Indiana Pacers' Andrew Nembhard, left, get into an altercation during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Milwaukee Bucks' Bobby Portis (9) leaves the court after being ejected during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series against the Indiana Pacers, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner (33) dunks against Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez (11) during the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Ben Sheppard, right, is called for an offensive foul against Milwaukee Bucks' Khris Middleton during the first half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner reacts after hitting a 3-point shot during the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner celebrates with T.J. McConnell during the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

Indiana Pacers' Myles Turner reacts during the second half of Game 4 of the first round NBA playoff basketball series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

GENEVA (AP) — Switzerland’s top criminal court on Wednesday convicted a former interior minister of Gambia for crimes against humanity over his role in repression committed by the west African country’s security forces under its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said.

Ousman Sonko, Gambia’s interior minister from 2006 to 2016 under then-President Yahya Jammeh, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, TRIAL International said on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

The trial, which began in January, was seen by advocacy groups as an opportunity to reach a conviction under “universal jurisdiction,” which allows for the prosecution of serious crimes committed abroad.

The verdict was read out in Swiss federal criminal court in the southern town of Bellinzona on Wednesday. Sonko, who was in the courtroom, offered little reaction when a translation of the verdict was read out in English, said TRIAL International's legal adviser Benoit Meystre, who also attended the proceedings.

Sonko applied for asylum in Switzerland in November 2016 and was arrested two months later.

The Swiss attorney general’s office said the indictment against Sonko, filed a year ago, covered alleged crimes during 16 years under Jammeh, whose rule was marked by arbitrary detention, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings.

Sonko was accused of supporting, participating in and failing to stop attacks against opponents in Gambia, an English-speaking West African country that is surrounded by neighboring Senegal. The crimes included killings, torture, rape and numerous unlawful detentions, prosecutors said.

“This unprecedented conviction based on universal jurisdiction in Europe is the confirmation that no one is above the reach of justice,” Meystre said in a text message. “Even the most powerful figures can be brought to account for their participation in mass atrocities.”

Madi MK Ceesay, an award-winning journalist who was once arrested under Sonko's orders and who testified in the trial, said the verdict would likely send a strong signal to Jammeh, who remains in exile in Equatorial Guinea.

“The trial demonstrates that no matter what, the long arm of justice can always catch the perpetrator,” Ceesay told The Associated Press.

Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer who attended the trial, said Sonko's conviction was a pivotal step toward justice for Jammeh’s victims.

“The long arm of the law is catching up with Yahya Jammeh’s accomplices all around the world, and hopefully will soon catch up with Jammeh himself,” he said.

Sonko was convicted of homicide, torture and false imprisonment as crimes against humanity, while rape charges against him were dropped, Brody wrote on X.

Philip Grant, executive director at TRIAL International, which filed the Swiss case against Sonko before his arrest, said he was the highest-level former official ever to be put on trial in Europe under the principle of universal jurisdiction.

Sonko, who joined the Gambian military in 1988, was appointed commander of the State Guard in 2003, a position in which he was responsible for Jammeh’s security, Swiss prosecutors said. He was made inspector general of the Gambian police in 2005.

He was removed as interior minister in September 2016, a few months before the end of Jammeh’s government, and left Gambia to seek asylum in Europe.

Ousman Sonko is not to be confused with leading politician Ousmane Sonko in Senegal, who spells his first name slightly differently.

Jammeh seized control in a 1994 coup. He lost Gambia’s 2016 presidential election but refused to concede defeat to Adama Barrow, and ultimately fled amid threats of a regional military intervention to force him from power.

“The verdict against Ousman Sonko is a milestone in the fight against impunity and a historic success for universal jurisdiction in Switzerland and Europe,” Amnesty Switzerland wrote on X. “Even former ministers can be prosecuted! Victims and their families finally see justice.”

John reported from Serrekunda, Gambia.

Olimatou Sonko, daughter of Gambia's former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, and a lawyer in his defence team, talks to the media after the conviction of her father, in front of the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland in Bellinzona, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Switzerland’s top criminal court has convicted Ousman Sonko for crimes against humanity over the repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents of its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said Wednesday. (Maria Linda Clericetti/Keystone via AP)

Philippe Currat, lawyer for Gambia's former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, talks to the media after the conviction of her father, in front of the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland in Bellinzona, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Switzerland’s top criminal court has convicted Ousman Sonko for crimes against humanity over the repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents of its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said Wednesday. (Maria Linda Clericetti/Keystone via AP)

Philip Grant, Executive Director of TRIAL International talks to the media after the conviction of former interior minister of Gambia Ousman Sonko, in front of the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland, in Bellinzona, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Switzerland’s top criminal court has convicted Sonko for crimes against humanity over the repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents of its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said Wednesday. Grant, executive director at TRIAL International, which filed the Swiss case against Sonko before his arrest, said he was the highest-level former official ever to be put on trial in Europe under the principle of universal jurisdiction. (Maria Linda Clericetti/Keystone via AP)

Olimatou Sonko, daughter of Gambia's former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko, talks to the media after the conviction of her father, in front of the Federal Criminal Court of Switzerland in Bellinzona, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. Switzerland’s top criminal court has convicted Ousman Sonko for crimes against humanity over the repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents of its longtime dictator, a legal advocacy group said Wednesday. (Maria Linda Clericetti/Keystone via AP)

FILE - Gambia's defeated leader Yahya Jammeh waves to supporters as he departs from Banjul airport on Jan. 21, 2017, as he has decided to relinquish power. Switzerland’s top criminal court has convicted Ousman Sonko, a former interior minister of Gambia, for crimes against humanity during repression by the west African country’s security forces against opponents under then-President Yahya Jammeh. The Swiss attorney general’s office said the indictment against Sonko, filed a year ago, covered alleged crimes during 16 years under Jammeh, whose rule was marked by arbitrary detention, sexual abuse and extrajudicial killings. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)