Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks survive frantic finish to edge Celtics in Game 3, take 2-1 series lead
5 min read
MILWAUKEE — The starters for the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics put in the conclusions of Game titles 1 and 2 on their respective benches, with the very first two game titles of their Eastern Convention semifinal sequence ending before the ultimate buzzer sounded in blowout victories for every crew.
Saturday’s Video game 3 matinee at Fiserv Forum presented the first wire-to-wire contest of the ideal-of-7 series as the Bucks edged the Celtics 103-101 at the buzzer to acquire a 2-1 direct and safeguard the household-court edge they attained in Boston.
Celtics center Al Horford’s would-be video game-tying idea-in was at first dominated superior on the court docket, but critique confirmed it fell in just after time expired.
Boston arrived back from a 14-position 3rd-quarter deficit to just take a 100-99 direct with just below two minutes to go in regulation on two no cost throws from Jaylen Brown, but Giannis Antetokounmpo experienced a go-forward lay-in with 44.3 seconds still left. Jrue Holiday getaway then strike the eventual match-winner with 11.2 seconds still left to give the Bucks a 103-100 lead.
Holiday getaway fouled Marcus Clever with 4.6 seconds left to set up a pair of reward totally free throws. Wise made the first to established up an intentional miss out on on the 2nd, and he did it correctly as he and Robert Williams III had probabilities on the putback.
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The two skipped nonetheless among the a scramble amid Milwaukee bigs Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis and the match ended after the limited evaluate of Horford’s remaining endeavor.
“I had a really excellent view and I imagined it was close, you know?” Lopez explained. “I was appropriate there and I saw Al suggestion it and then I noticed the tiny red outline go off on the backboard, so it was incredibly near. In that moment, I never know which way it was.”
Holiday getaway questioned at just how rapidly Intelligent got off the no cost-toss line to get the to start with putback try off and went by means of the ultimate couple of tries by the Celtics.
“Which is a lengthy clock,” Getaway explained. “Happy it went our way.”
From his vantage issue down the court docket, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer mentioned it was “just the two groups scrapping for a rebounds and scrapping for a gain.”
Antetokounmpo, who shot just 38.5% from the floor (20-for-52) around the initially two online games for 52 factors went 16-for-30 on Saturday for 42 points to direct all scorers. He also experienced 12 rebounds, eight assists, two steals and two blocks.
“I just try to go through what’s in entrance of me, participate in to my strengths as significantly as feasible,” Antetokounmpo reported of his way of thinking. “I know what my strengths are. But yeah, I just experimented with to read through what is in front of me. I just engage in with my instincts.
“Often I’m going to make the correct participate in, sometimes I’m heading to make the improper enjoy, but as very long as I enjoy inside of my strengths I’m heading to be in a excellent spot.”
Jrue Holiday getaway added 25 factors on 11-of-30 shooting and seven rebounds.
Grayson Allen began in place of Bobby Portis, but he was plagued with foul problems and did not score and attempted just 3 pictures. Brook Lopez experienced 13 factors and 10 rebounds but also experienced foul hassle and missed massive chunks of action. Pat Connaughton scored 11 points off the Bucks’ bench although Portis had nine.
Brown led Boston with 27 details though Horford extra 22, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter to gasoline the Celtics’ rally.
They scored 18 points in the opening 4½ minutes of the fourth quarter — one a lot more point than they scored the complete 3rd quarter.
“It felt like we did not rating probably on a pair possessions,” Budenholzer claimed of Boston’s fourth-quarter comeback. “When it gets to the fourth quarter and you get a clean look, it’d be good to make some of individuals. Credit to Boston. They manufactured a pair — Horford at the very least a single and Brown.
“And they received to the cost-free-throw line. We gotta retain them of the cost-free-throw line. The difference in the no cost-toss recreation — they bought 33 to our 17 — we have received to do a superior task of keeping them off the no cost-throw line and Giannis has gotta continue on to be in assault manner, our team’s gotta be in attack method.
“We’ve gotta flip the free of charge-toss sport. You’re lucky to gain a sport when a crew shoots twice as a lot of cost-free throws as you do.”
Jayson Tatum was held to 10 points on 4-of-19 taking pictures. Williams (10 details) and Derrick White (14) also reached double figures for the Celtics.
Wise, who skipped Game 2 with a suitable thigh bruise, returned for Boston and scored nine factors on 1-of-7 taking pictures.
Milwaukee worked in veteran place guard George Hill for approximately 11 minutes off the bench right after the 36-12 months-aged experienced skipped the frequent-year finale and the to start with 7 games of the postseason with an belly pressure suffered on April 8. While he didn’t score, he did attract two key offensive fouls and supplied some relief as the Bucks’ perimeter players had foul hassle.
In a foul-plagued 1st 50 percent, Boston took a 50-46 lead into the split thanks to a 16-for-17 hard work from the totally free-throw line while Milwaukee was 7-for-10. The Celtics also scored 10 details off eight Bucks turnovers, while the defending champions managed just just one stage off 4 pressured turnovers.
Stick to Jim Owczarski on Twitter @JimOwczarski.
This write-up at first appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bucks edge Celtics in Activity 3 to consider 2-1 collection guide
