Celtics vs Bucks

Boston was not as fortunate against Giannis Antetokounmpo, who posted his second career playoff triple-double, in Milwaukee's series-opening victory. The ...

. Milwaukee had nine turnovers in the first half. . Antetokounmpo was 2 for 12 from the field in the first half. A 10-0 Milwaukee run, aided by a more than five-minute Celtics scoring drought, trimmed Boston's lead to 72-56 late in the third quarter. The Bucks cut into what had been a 26-point Celtics lead in the third quarter. Derrick White took his place in the starting lineup, making his first start in a playoff game since 2019 when he was with San Antonio. The Celtics played without point guard Marcus Smart after he was ruled out before the game with a bruised right thigh he sustained in Game 1.

The Boston Celtics got embarrassed on their home court in Game 1. They made sure that didn't happen again in Game 2. Jaylen Brown puts up a game-high 30 ...

Now it's up to the Bucks to figure out how they can get their shots off against Boston just as Boston adjusted to them in Game 2. But Boston changed up its game plan defensively in a way that took away the 3s Milwaukee lives off of on offense. Yet in Game 2, the Celtics took 43 3s and the Bucks took just 18. Grant Williams (6), Jaylen Brown (6) and Jayson Tatum (5) all made more 3s in the game than the Bucks did as a team (3). Boston outscored Milwaukee by 51 points from deep, but what's more, that hot shooting helped the Celtics find easier points in the first half. Those 18 3-point attempts are by far the fewest of the Mike Budenholzer era in Milwaukee. Under his coaching, the Bucks had never taken fewer than 22 in a game before Game 2. Milwaukee ranked fifth in the NBA by taking 38.4 3s per game in the regular season. The Bucks went into Boston on Sunday and handed the Celtics a stunning 101-89 defeat in their series opener. If it plays the low-energy offense it did in the second? Milwaukee's defense -- already geared around protecting the paint and sacrificing 3s -- took things to another level in the opener by starting Bobby Portis alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. The idea was to put so much size on the floor that the Celtics would be baited into shooting nothing but jumpers. Boston rebounded with a win at TD Garden, and they did so without the services of Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, who sat out with a right thigh contusion. Boston was hot from the start, outscoring Milwaukee 65-40 in the first half. Bucks score, takeaways: Boston bounces back vs.

In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Boston Celtics rolled to a 109-86 win at TD Garden to tie the best-of-seven series 1-1.

Their game plan is to clog the paint and make you beat them from deep, and in Game 1, that strategy worked like a charm. That playmaking and defense was the reason Ime Udoka started White and played him 28 minutes compared to Payton Pritchard's 23. They also took fewer contested attempts in the paint, displaying patience to hunt for open shots that proved to be the difference in this one. The veteran guard made his impact in other areas, though. Jayson Tatum added 29 points while the Celtics made 46.5 percent of their 3-pointers (20 of 43) to bounce back from an ugly 101-89 loss in Game 1. On Tuesday, he was the best, giving Boston a huge boost in Smart's absence.

Thanks to a hot shooting night, the Celtics bounced back after dropping Game 1 at home to the Bucks.

TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD In the United States, Celtics vs. For Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo is 1 of 10 from the field. Brown is the only player in double figures up to this point on the night.

Jaylen Brown scored 25 of his game-high 30 points in the first half, the Celtics assisted on 28 of 38 field goals, and they held Giannis Antetokounmpo to ...

Grant Williams then drilled a three from the opposite corner, his sixth three of the game. But Brown countered, securing a missed three from Pritchard and laying it in to give the home team a 99-84 advantage with 3:24 left. And with just under 5:49 to play, Tatum converted on a tough layup after some fancy footwork, putting the Celtics ahead 94-78. After a Portis jumper, Brown responded with a pull-up three from the left wing, pushing Boston's advantage back to 18, 88-70. With 8:46 remaining, Lopez picked up his fifth foul and had to come out of the game; Portis took his place on the floor. At the 5:11 mark, Antetokounmpo worked his way by Williams for two points at the cup, and Holiday then knocked down a jumper off the dribble to pull Milwaukee within 16 with 4:50 left. With 53.6 seconds remaining, after Antetokounmpo scored on Horford, exhausted, he held onto the ball as he started walking up the floor, earning him a delay of game. With 5:11 remaining, Grant Williams drew a charge on Portis, and when he landed, he hit the back of his head hard against the court. As a team, the Celtics shot 57.1 percent from the field and went 6/8 (75 percent) from long range. Brown, off to a blistering start, scored 17 points on 6/7 shooting, including 3/3 from beyond the arc. Then, Giannis Antetokounmpo made an errant pass Brown picked off, and Al Horford hit a shot from a few steps to the right of where Brown scored the game's first points. Portis drove hard to the rim, finishing over Derrick White, drawing a foul on Marcus Smart's stand-in, and cashing in on the ensuing free throw.

Smart misses Game 2 but is expected to be ready when the series shifts to Milwaukee for Game 3.

He’s averaging 15.2 points, 6.8 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in the playoffs. “He got hit and missed some games in the past. The Kia Defensive Player of the Year was hit twice in his thigh and briefly left the game after also suffering a right shoulder stinger.

Brown scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half, and Boston beat Milwaukee 109-86 on Tuesday night to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at one game ...

… Boston scored 15 points off Milwaukee’s turnovers in the opening 24 minutes. … Antetokounmpo was 2 for 12 from the field in the first half. … Milwaukee had nine turnovers in the first half. … Finished 13 of 20 from 3 in the first half... A 10-0 Milwaukee run, aided by a more than five-minute Celtics scoring drought, trimmed Boston’s lead to 72-56 late in the third quarter. The Bucks cut into what had been a 26-point Celtics lead in the third quarter. Udoka said Smart experienced some swelling, pain and restricted movement over the past two days. It also included 12 points from the 3-point line, where the Celtics struggled for most of Game 1. Derrick White took his place in the starting lineup, making his first start in a playoff game since 2019 when he was with San Antonio. We wanted to be aggressive from the gate." Bobby Portis chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds. “It’s the playoffs.