| ‘Greek Freak’ Giannis Antetokounmpo was back to his best as the Milwaukee Bucks drew level with the Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference semi-final |
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 15 of his 29 points in the third quarter and the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks pulled away for a 123-102 victory at home over the Boston Celtics to even their Eastern Conference semifinal at one game apiece.
Game 3 is Friday night in Boston.
Antetokounmpo opened the series Sunday — a 22-point loss — by shooting 7 of 21 while constantly getting bottled up in the paint by Boston defenders. On Tuesday, he was 3 of 8 in a closely contested first half that ended with Milwaukee holding a four-point lead before things changed drastically in the third.
The Bucks dominated the third by outscoring the Celtics 39-18 and ended the period with an impressive 24-2 run over the final 7:06.
Antetokounmpo keyed the clinching run by hitting four free throws, a pair of 3-pointers and a tip-in. He exited to a standing ovation with 2:17 left, and Eric Bledsoe scored the final seven points to push the lead to 98-73 going into the fourth.
Antetokounmpo returned with 8:59 left in the game and by then Milwaukee held a 30-point lead. He checked out for the rest of the game nearly two minutes later with Milwaukee up by 28.
Antetokounmpo shot 7 of 16 from the field and made 13 of 18 free throws. He also added 10 rebounds and four assists.
Khris Middleton helped Milwaukee overcome some early sluggishness by scoring 20 of his playoff career-high 28 points before halftime, and he went 7 for 10 on 3-pointers for the game.
Bledsoe added 21 as Milwaukee set a team postseason record by hitting 20 3-pointers. Bledsoe and Middleton were a combined 10 of 15 from behind the arc.
Marcus Morris led the Celtics with 17 points and Jaylen Brown added 16. Al Horford finished with 15 but Kyrie Irving missed his first seven shots and was held to nine points on 4-of-18 shooting.
It was the second time Irving was held to fewer than 10 points in a playoff game.
The Celtics suffered their first loss this postseason, and were within 74-71 midway through the third on a jumper by Morris before collapsing. They finished the quarter missing 11 of 12 shots and committing six turnovers as Milwaukee surged ahead and essentially sealed the game with the period-closing run.
Elsewhere, Kevin Durant led a balanced attack with 29 points Tuesday night as the Golden State Warriors went up 2-0 in their Western Conference semifinal series against the Houston Rockets with a 115-109 win in Oakland, Calif.
Both Warriors star Stephen Curry and Rockets star James Harden sustained injuries in the contest.
After a three-day break, the West semifinals now shift to Houston on Saturday and Monday.
For the second game in a row, all five Warriors starters scored in double figures, including Curry, who dislocated the middle finger on his left hand early in the game and yet still managed 20 points.
Curry didn’t seem bothered by the injury after returning quickly to the game, but the same couldn’t be said of Harden, who sustained a scratched left eye shortly after Curry’s mishap.
Harden finished with a game-high-tying 29 points but often was seen squinting and rubbing his eye after returning to action.
The Warriors took advantage of 18 offensive rebounds and 24 points off 18 Rockets turnovers to overcome Houston’s 51-33 dominance in points scored off 3-pointers.