NBA: Giannis hits 42 as Bucks edge Celtics for 2-1 series lead
SAN FRANCISCO – Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 42 points, won 12 rebounds and passed eight assists to spark defending champion Milwaukee beat Boston 103-101 on Saturday in the NBA playoffs.
The Greek superstar midfielder also had two blocked shots and two steals for the Bucks, who took a 2-1 lead in the second series of the Best Eastern Conference, which continued in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Two.
Golden State will host Memphis the following Saturday in a Western Conference game, with a 1-1 scoreline.
The Celtics rallied 14 points to pull in the 103-100 with 4.6 seconds left and Boston’s Marcus Smart sank the first of two free throws to lift the visitors into the final bound.
Smart missed the second free-throw in hopes of winning a rebound and sinking an inside shot, but Robert Williams missed a test and Al Horford’s hit was decided after the final whistle. in the end, bring victory to Milwaukee.
Celtics coach Ime Udoka said Jrue Holiday’s foul on Smart, which was preceded by a shot attempt, should have been treated as a shooting action and yielded three free throws, which would give Smart one chance to finish the game. .
Udoka said, “He got involved. “So poor. It was a shot. He is taking a shot. Bad missed calls. ”
Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said the Bucks were “lucky that it was two free throws but we didn’t try to foul him” in Clever play.
Udoka also says that it shouldn’t go down like that.
“We shrewdly on the third take and let them get the lead then fought back in the fourth,” he said. “But we could have played a lot better.”
Holiday had 25 points for the Bucks while Brook Lopez added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Pat Connaughton had 11 points and 8 rebounds from the bench.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 27 points and 12 rebounds while Horford had 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Celtics but Jayson tatum took down 4/19 and scored just 10 points.
Boston led 50-46 in the first half but the Bucks opened the third half with a 20-6 win to lead 66-56, with Antetokounmpo creating nine points and four assists in the crucial span.
Milwaukee led 80-66 in the final seconds of the third round.
The Last Drama
But Horford scored 12 points in the fourth round, including a 3-pointer and hook the ball into the back row to drag Boston in 97-95 with 4:10 to play.
NBA Smart Defensive Player of the Year, who missed the second half with a thigh injury, hit the free throw to give the Celtics a 97-96 lead, but Antetokounmpo made a jump in response.
Brown sank two free throws to lift Boston back in the 99-98 with 2:33 remaining, then returned to the line and hit two more to give the Celtics a 100-99 advantage with 1:49 to play.
Antetokounmpo responded with a jump in to give the Bucks a 101-100 lead and then blocked a Brown shot.
Holiday grabbed the ball loosely for Milwaukee and fired a one-handed shot to push the Bucks into a 103-100 lead with 11.2 seconds remaining, then fouled Smart to stage the final act.
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