The Milwaukee Bucks needed to play their best game of the series Friday night, to avoid going into an 0-3 hole to the Boston Celtics in their NBA Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. And the Bucks did just that on their home floor, knocking down 16 three pointers and routing the Celtics 116-92 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. Boston still leads the best of seven 2-1.
Milwaukee shot 57 percent the floor for the game, building a 27-12 lead after the first quarter, and ballooning the lead to as many as 28 in the second quarter and also holding a 23 point halftime lead. Boston was held without a field goal for an 11 minute stretch of the first half, and closest they could close the gap was to 14 at 76-62 in the third. The Bucks were 16-33 (48.5%) from three point range overall.
Al Horford led the Celtics with 16 points. Greg Monroe recorded a double double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jayson Tatum added 14 points and five rebounds, while Jaylen Brown chipped in 11 points and four rebounds. Terry Rozier, who had committed no turnovers in games one and two, committed five and the Celtics turned it over 16 times allowing the Bucks to run out for some easy transition baskets to build the lead.
Khris Middleton led the Bucks with 23 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists on 10-17 shooting from the floor. Giannis Antetokounmpo filled up the stat sheet again with 19 points, five rebounds, six assists, two steals, and two blocked shots. Eric Bledsoe and Jabari Parker added 17 points a piece. Thon Maker chipped in 14 points, five rebounds, and five blocked shots in just 24 minutes.
Game four will be played in Milwaukee on Sunday, with tipoff scheduled for 1 pm.
