Celtics Vs. Bucks

Grant Williams' historic performance powered a 109-81 rout of the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 7 of the East semifinals at TD Garden ...

The absence of Khris Middleton was apparent for Milwaukee throughout the series but particularly in Game 7, as the Bucks couldn't find consistent scoring outside Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday (21 points). The Celtics poured in 22 3-pointers on 55 attempts, breaking their own playoff record they set in Game 1 of the series. The Celtics big man didn't see any floor time despite being active for the first time since Game 3. Williams made just two of his first seven 3-point attempts as the Bucks kept it close early on. Williams scored a career-high 27 points and tied an NBA Game 7 record with seven made 3-pointers on 18 attempts. That statement would have seemed ridiculous in late January when Boston was the No. 10 seed in the Eastern Conference at 23-24.

BOSTON (AP) Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points and hit seven 3-pointers, Jayson Tatum added 23 and the Boston Celtics set a Game 7 record with 22 ...

. Milwaukee missed their final 11 3-point attempts of the first half. It was 63-53 when Tatum went to the bench after being whistled for his fourth foul. ''If you believe in the basketball gods, those things matter.'' That's the second-worst 3-point percentage in a playoff game ever (minimum 30 attempts). Boston used a whopping 54-point advantage from behind the arc to improve to 25-9 in decisive seventh games. We didn't overcome all the stuff we did during the regular season for that to be it. He said being able to have Game 7 at home mattered. The Celtics will face top-seeded Miami beginning Tuesday in a rematch of the 2020 East finals. Williams was timid early, missing 5 of his first 7 3-point attempts. I expected to play the way I did and for us to respond the way we did.'' They went 4 for 33 (12.1%) from the 3-point line. ''As much as it hurt to lose Game 5, I was looking forward to that challenge,'' Tatum said.

'Can't be real': NBA's best team crashes out of playoffs after 'embarrassing' 74-year low.

Boston found that in the second half as Antetokounmpo went from shooting 6-for-9 to start the game to 3-for-14 as the Bucks fell behind 87-68. Milwaukee’s game plan in the first half surrounding daring Williams and Derrick White to shoot, with the pair combining to go 3-for-12 from downtown early. Milwaukee though could not just rely on Boston continuing its shooting struggles and it did not take long for the Celtics to take the lead for the first time in the game. It meant the Celtics took a 48-43 lead into the break, with 3-point shooting the difference after Boston shot 40 per cent from deep compared to 15 per cent from Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo (17 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists) was still leading the scoring for Milwaukee at that point, with Lopez (11 points) and Holiday (six) the next closest. The Celtics struggled early in the game, shooting 2-for-9 from the floor as the Bucks took an early 13-6 lead in the first quarter. The Bucks took a 26-20 lead into the second, with Antetokounmpo scoring or assisting on Milwaukee’s first 24 points as Boston shot just 29 per cent from the floor. It was a disappointing ending for Antetokounmpo, who became the first player in NBA history with 200 points, 100 rebounds and 50 assists in a single series. The Suns scored a season-low 17 points in the first quater, with Doncic putting up 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists by that point alone. With it, Doncic and Dinwiddie became the first pair of teammates to score 20 points in a half in a Game 7 since Patrick Ewing and Allan Houston, per ESPN Stats and Info. Doncic made a statement early in Monday’s game, scoring Dallas’ first seven points as the Mavericks went on to a 21-12 lead early. Jae Crowder and Cam Johnson (five points) both led the scoring for the Suns, who as a team shot 24.4 per cent from the floor and 21.4 per cent from downtown.

Williams hit seven 3s and led the team with 27 points.

Lopez camped out in the paint to prevent the Celtics from getting anything easy at the rim, and dared Williams to win Game 7. As the Bucks tried in vain to make one last comeback, Portis got loose in transition and went hard to the basket. "And in the playoffs you need that. That may have just been a defensive miscommunication, but the Bucks made a purposeful decision to leave Williams alone the rest of the time. They leaned into that approach in Game 7, and essentially spun a big roulette wheel that they hoped would land on "missed 3s." The message during Sunday's Game 7 was a bit different: "I told him let it fly," Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said.

BOSTON -- — In the fog of the Celtics' Game 5 loss to Milwaukee that dropped his team into a 3-2 series hole, Boston coach Ime Udoka made a prediction.

We didn’t overcome all the stuff we did during the regular season for that to be it. … Milwaukee missed their final 11 3-point attempts of the first half. I expected to play the way I did and for us to respond the way we did.” It was 63-53 when Tatum went to the bench after being whistled for his fourth foul. “If you believe in the basketball gods, those things matter.” .. At the end of the day, we wanted to come out, leave it all out there. Boston used a whopping 54-point advantage from behind the arc to improve to 25-9 in decisive seventh games. He said being able to have Game 7 at home mattered. That’s the second-worst 3-point percentage in a playoff game ever (minimum 30 attempts). “For me it was like, they're encouraging it, I might as well take advantage,” Williams said. The Celtics will face top-seeded Miami beginning Tuesday in a rematch of the 2020 East finals. Williams was timid early, missing 5 of his first 7 3-point attempts.

Grant Williams led all scorers with 27 points. The Celtics will face the Miami Heat in a seven-game series that opens Tuesday in Miami.

This is a game that will determine the state of the Celtics franchise. The matchup is set for 3:30 p.m. and will air on ABC. This is the fourth Game 7 for that group, and they are 2-1 in the previous three. Still, the decision was not totally the Bucks’. The Celtics had a game against the Grizzlies later in the day, and they could have punted it and stayed out of the No. 2 spot. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were a combined 5 of 10 from the field, but the other Celtics connected on just 2 of their 14 attempts. You could feel the energy start to shift ... downward ... with the Celtics down by 10. The first half is a little early to use the coach’s challenge, especially in a Game 7, but the payoff could have been an And-1 for Tatum. The Celtics shot an abysmal 29.2 percent from the field in the first quarter, so they should feel somewhat pleased they are only down six. ▪ The Celtics have nine turnovers to the Bucks’ 7. There is 8:19 in the second quarter. You can’t have a conversation with the person next to you, it’s so loud. Grant Williams had a career game for the Celtics, drilling seven 3-pointers and scoring 27 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo reaches his limit, Grant Williams breaks out and Jayson Tatum's maturity is evident as Boston eliminates Milwaukee.

This is the fourth conference final in six years for the Celtics. Tatum was here two years ago in the bubble, against Butler and the Heat, and came up short in six. Keep in mind that last season, he was on the bench for a tanking OKC team, and two seasons ago was part of a dreadful experiment in Philadelphia next to Joel Embiid. Horford was not in demand on the trade market last summer, not only because he seemed finished, but carried a bloated salary and was about to turn 35. To Brown’s credit, he keeps the mentality of a leading scorer, and that came in handy for a Game 7, with 19 points on a cool 50% shooting, stepping forward when Tatum needed a boost. He missed 12 of his 13 shots in Games 6 and 7, both losses, and was leaky on defense as well. In that regard, he’s one of the most underrated players in the league. He had a few moments, but never mustered a string of them and never made Boston nervous, unlike the rest of this series. Williams was a refreshing asset in Game 7, much like he was in Game 2. The last time Giannis faced an elimination game, he dropped a 50-piece on the Suns and sipped champagne. The best news for Boston in this decisive game is Jayson Tatum didn’t need to out-duel Giannis. That says plenty about Tatum’s help vs. When your franchise guy struggles (he was 10-for-26 in Game 7), it tends to sap all of the energy from the rest. And you could tell by the handful of bunny shots he missed in Game 7 that Antetokounmpo was whipped.