Rose scored 26 points, getting three straight 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter, a clinching free throw with 17 seconds left and a rebound at the buzzer as the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 88-85 in a playoff opener Sunday night.

"I was just trying to be aggressive," Rose said.

He also was trying to make up for lost time spent on the bench with foul trouble.

"It's a challenge when you come into a game and try to play offense and defense," said Rose, who finished with five fouls. "In the fourth quarter, the guys did a good job getting me open and I knocked down a few shots we needed."

Game 2 in the best-of-five Eastern Conference series will be at Conseco Fieldhouse on Thursday night.

Rose had 12 points in the first quarter but went cold until his late run. The Bucks, meanwhile, survived their own poor shooting, came back from a 13-point deficit and tied the game 62-62 after three quarters on six straight points by Sam Cassell.

Two baskets by Tim Thomas -- one a 3-pointer -- at the start of the final period gave Milwaukee its biggest lead at 67-62 before Rose took over.

"The main thing was we kept our composure," he said. "When they took the lead, we didn't get discouraged."

The Bucks' final edge was 69-68 before Rose's first 3-pointer with 6:28 to go, and Indiana went up 79-71 after two more 3-pointers by Rose. Ray Allen, who had 22 of his 26 points in the second half, pulled the Bucks within 85-84 with a minute to go. Travis Best then scored for the Pacers and Cassell hit one of two free throws with 43 seconds left.

Reggie Miller, who had 21 points for the Pacers, then missed a shot, but the ball went out of bounds to Indiana with 18 seconds left. Rose was immediately fouled as the ball was inbounded and went 1-of-2 from the line for the final point.

Milwaukee got off two more shots, but Thomas missed a 3-pointer and Rose grabbed the ball at the buzzer to save the victory.

"We really didn't have a set play," Thomas said. "I had a good shot at it, but I was a little too anxious."

Cassell finished with 18 points for Milwaukee. Glenn Robinson added 11 points but went just 4-for-17 from the field. The Pacers' Dale Davis had 12 points, 17 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Larry Bird gets the opening victory in what will be his final playoffs as Indiana coach. (AP)

"Dale hurt us in the paint," Bucks coach George Karl said. "He is a man. In the past, we've had success driving into the paint against Indiana, but we didn't get to the rim tonight because of Dale Davis."

Indiana coach Larry Bird said Rose's defense on Robinson also was a big key.

"Jalen played him as well as you can play him," Bird said. "He ran the floor, he defended and he made some big shots."

The top-seeded Pacers, who swept the Bucks 3-0 in a first-round series last year, seemed to take control with Rose's early scoring. Indiana was 1-for-12 at the start of the second quarter but still led by 12 points late in the period after a rebound basket by Davis.

Robinson, who missed his first six shots, hit two straight for the Bucks, and late in the period two free throws by Robinson and a basket by Cassell cut Indiana's lead to 40-34.

Mark Jackson's 3-pointer pushed the Pacers back on top by nine, then Davis, who had 12 rebounds in the first half, put back a miss by Jackson with a half-second left for a 45-34 lead at the break.

Notes

• Allen, who played only six minutes in the Bucks' final regular-season game because of a knee sprain, played 34 minutes against the Pacers but was only 9-for-22 on field goals.
• Milwaukee's 105-84 victory at Indiana last month was the Pacers' worst of five losses at home this season.
• Milwaukee's last playoff victory was May 1, 1990, against Chicago. The Pacers have reached the Eastern Conference finals the past two years.
• The Bucks' Darvin Ham, who played for the Pacers briefly three years ago, was 4-for-5 in the third quarter but received a technical foul for hanging on the rim after a dunk. Cassell and Indiana's Austin Croshere received technicals after a shoving match early in the final period.
• Robinson, Allen and Cassell were a combined 7-for-29 in the first half.