Celtics vs Bucks

The Celtics coughed up a 14-point fourth-quarter lead Wednesday at TD Garden, as the Bucks stormed back to steal Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals ...

White didn't score in the second half, but he finished with six assists and was a plus-eight on the night. The Celtics managed to win Game 4 without Williams and should have won without him Wednesday night. The Bucks racked up 17 offensive rebounds to Boston's five, none more important than Portis' late putback.

The series between Boston and Milwaukee is tied 2-2.

It will be tough for Al Horford to duplicate the success that he had last game, and the Bucks have been able to make life difficult on Tatum. Pick: Bucks +5.5 Tatum is obviously central to Boston's success on the offensive end, so if the Bucks can continue to slow him, they'll give themselves a solid shot of advancing. On the other side, Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way in defeat for Milwaukee with 34 points, 18 rebounds and five assists.

The Celtics hosted the Bucks at the TD Garden for a pivotal Game 5 with the series tied at 2-2.

The Bucks and Celtics will battle in Game 5 on Wednesday, May 11. 8:07 p.m.: After the Celtics went on a huge run, the Bucks did a fantastic job of weathering the storm to answer right back. 5:30 p.m.: The Celtics announced that starting center Robert Williams III is OUT for Game 5 with left knee soreness. Tatum is up to 12 points on the night. Jaylen Brown's 16-point quarter carried the Celtics in the third. The Bucks are not able to really make much ground on this Celtics' six-point lead. The Bucks have leveed this game at 105 with 37 seconds remaining off the back of a Jrue Holiday 3-pointer. Bucks trail 99-95 with 5:22 left in the game. 9:34 p.m: THIS GAME! Antetokounmpo missed the second of his free throws but Bobby Portis corrals the offensive board and puts it back in to give the Bucks a one-point lead. 9:15 p.m: Small lineup is working for the Bucks right now. By now, I'm sure you've heard the stat that the winner of Game 5 in a best-of-7 series that is tied 2-2 goes on to win the series roughly 82 percent of the time. The Bucks head back to Milwaukee with a 3-2 lead.

'Just insane': Bloody Giannis explodes as defending champs steal 'wild' NBA thriller.

Antetokounmpo stepped up when the Bucks needed him most to score 15 of Milwaukee’s 19 points in the second quarter as the Celtics took a 54-47 lead into the half. Milwaukee still maintained a 28-26 lead after the first, with Holiday (9 points) leading the way followed by Grayson Allen (five points) and Antetokounmpo (four). That saw Milwaukee take an early 11-10 lead with seven minutes remaining in the first, with Holiday shooting 3-for-5 from the field to put up seven points by that point of the game.

Robert Williams III missed a second consecutive playoff game for the Celtics because of left knee soreness, having been ruled out of Wednesday's Game 5 ...

Williams returned from a torn meniscus in his left knee in Game 3 of Boston's first-round playoff series victory over the Brooklyn Nets. He returned to the starting lineup for the first three games of the series. Until it's pain-free, we'll rest him until he's ready." BOSTON -- The Celtics were left without forward Robert Williams III for the second consecutive game on Wednesday night, as he sat because of left knee soreness.

Through five games, the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Celtics and Bucks has checked all the boxes of an instant classic.

While it may be a long shot, Middleton is a player that has scored 40 points on the NBA Finals stage and immediately adds another dynamic to the Bucks on both ends of the floor. In order to force a Game 7, it might require a 40-point performance, but Tatum is more than capable. It starts with Tatum, who has looked like a top 10 player in the league during these playoffs while Brown has had numerous spurts where he looked unstoppable. In Milwaukee's thrilling Game 5 comeback, Giannis put up 40 points (on 16-of-27 shooting) and pulled down 11 rebounds for the game. The Bucks take their home floor with an opportunity to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four years while the Celtics look to dig deep to pull out another road win in order to stave off elimination and set up a Game 7 on their home floor. In Game 3, the Celtics came back from 13 down to start the fourth quarter to take the lead with under two minutes remaining, only for the Bucks to put it away with the play of Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday. In Game 4, the play of Al Horford sparked a second-half comeback after the Celtics trailed by double digits late in the third quarter before flipping the script to pull away for an eight-point win.

The Boston Celtics play against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum The Boston Celtics are spending $69048363 per win while the Milwaukee Bucks are spending ...

Will Tatum, Brown and the Celtics be able to force a Game 7?

Questions like that are what the playoffs are all about, and now it's Tatum and Brown's turn to provide an answer. This is well and truly Tatum and Brown's team, and it would be a massive disappointment if they bow out in the second round, even to the defending champions. The Celtics have already won once in Milwaukee, and are more than capable of doing so again. Tatum has established himself as one of the best players in the league, Brown is an All-Star, they're getting some of the best basketball of Al Horford's career and they have an elite defense that has been dominant at times in the playoffs. Both of those defeats were frustrating, but they felt like positive stepping stones for a young team at the time. The duo, which has been together since Tatum arrived in the 2017 draft, has already made a number of deep playoff runs together.

The series is now a best-of-three, and the Celtics have one major advantage -- Game 5 and Game 7 will be played at TD Garden in Boston.

If the Bucks' role players don't show up Wednesday night, their season will be on the line in Game 6. But whether it’s Jaylen Brown, whether it’s Al Horford, whether it’s Marcus Smart or Jayson Tatum or somebody, they will find a way at TD Garden to pull this out and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. "I believe they will lose Game 6 and I believe they will come back and they will close the deal out in a Game 7 in a thriller. He opened the series with a 15-point performance, but he's scored a total of 26 points over the last three games combined. They are 3-1 in front of their home fans in the 2022 playoffs. The series is now a best-of-three, and the Celtics have one major advantage -- Game 5 and Game 7 will be played at TD Garden in Boston. The C's owned the second-best home record in the regular season at 28-13.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics face off on Friday at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee in Game 6 of their NBA Playoffs series.

Celtics vs. Warriors vs. Mavs vs. Celtics vs. Warriors vs. Mavs vs. - 76ers vs. - 76ers vs. Clive Smith writes: "We have the Celtics (+1.5) as the best bet in this contest. If the Celtics tighten up on the boards, I like the Celtics to force a Game 7." The Celtics won in the paint, scored more in the fast break, and overall shot better from the foul line. The Celtics better hope Robert Williams is available for Game 6.