"If we make it to the Finals, we still won't be on TV a lot next year," Bucks guard Sam Cassell

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said after a 100-87 victory in Game 4.

Look at the scores. Look at all the empty seats Monday night. Try to find some star power among the Bucks, who toil in a place that isn't a hoops town. There's a reason NBC relegated every game in this series to the junior varsity, TNT.

Only now is there some drama, and that's in the possibility of Larry Bird making an embarrassing exit in what he says is his last season as a coach.

Back home again in Indiana on Thursday, he faces an upset loss to a No. 8 seed in the decisive game of a first-round playoff series.

It's probably not going to happen. The Pacers are notoriously moody, as they showed Monday night while trailing by as many as 31 points. But they're also vengeful, with a 19-0 record this season against teams that defeated them in their previous meeting. Game 5 in Conseco Fieldhouse isn't going to faze this group.

"They've been there before," Bird said of his players.

Milwaukee is in new territory. Before this season, the Bucks hadn't won a playoff game since 1990. "Loud Like Lambeau," said a sign in the crowd, in case people who were there needed a frame of reference.

Bucks coach George Karl said his team's second rout of the series made him uncomfortable.

"I've never been up that many points on a good team," Karl said. "I didn't know whether to sit down or go to the locker room or shut up."

Or keep hoping the Pacers can't hit 3-pointers. They missed on all 13 of their tries Monday night. Reggie Miller, last seen displaying his modesty in a Superman T-shirt, took only nine shots the whole game. He finished with 15 points, cooling off from the 34 he dropped on the Bucks in Game 3.

Bird decided not to start Rik Smits, returning from a one-game suspension, opting instead for Austin Croshere, who started the victory in Game 3. Bird brushed off a question about the move, saying it didn't make any difference, that team defense and rebounding are the issues.

The Bucks led by nine before Smits replaced Croshere, but it wasn't going to make any difference on a night when Scott Williams and Tim Thomas combined for 37 points off the bench.

"We were more bouncy than they were, more energized than they were," Karl said. "What can I say about the bench? I got to pray Scottie and Timmy come back like that on Thursday.

The Bucks' Darvin Ham hammers home two easy points against the Pacers.(AP)

"I've said 'trust the pass' and 'believe in the pass' about four million different ways this season, and tonight it looked like we believed it. That allowed Scottie and Tim to be involved."

But Ray Allen was still the star with 20 points and eight rebounds. He ended the first quarter by making a running 29-footer at the buzzer, a bad omen for the Pacers. It impressed Russ Granik, president of USA Basketball and the NBA deputy commissioner, who did a television interview at halftime.

"Ray Allen is sure making us look good for picking him on the Olympic team," Granik said, recalling a controversial decision in January.

In Milwaukee and Indianapolis, NBA television schedules are a controversial topic. Granik, who spent some time with reporters before Monday's game, was asked about NBC's decision. And why a late 8:30 p.m. start, local time, for Game 4? What about Larry Bird? What about the Pacers' four appearances in the conference finals in the past six years? Doesn't that merit at least a nod from the big network?

"Maybe you know more about ratings than they do," Granik said. "I think they know their business and make the choices accordingly."

After the game, Allen explained the snub as part of the Bucks' motivation.

"Right now, we're telling people, 'Look at us,' " he said.

Better look fast. There might only be one more chance.