The Milwaukee Bucks got a big game from their star player and went on a third quarter run that broke open a close competitive game Tuesday night, and ended up blowing out the Boston Celtics 123-102 in game two of an Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Miserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The best of seven series is now tied 1-1.
Boston started solid again, as the hosts from Milwaukee only had three first quarter minimal leads for a very short time. The Celtics led by as many as seven, and had a five point advantage after the opening 12 minutes. Khris Middleton gave the Bucks their largest of the first half by hitting back to back three pointers 24 seconds apart in the second quarter to make it 42-38. Down by four Kyrie Irving, Marcus Morris, and Al Horford restored a five point Celtics lead with three consecutive 3-pointers. Milwaukee however ended the last 2:54 of the first half on a 13-4 run, including big shots from three point range from Eric Bledsoe and George Hill to give the hosts a 59-55 halftime lead. Middleton had a huge opening half with 20 points for the Bucks.
Milwaukee exploded in the third quarter, led by their star in Giannis Antenkoumpo who scored 15 points in the quarter as the Bucks outscored the Celtics 39-18 over the 12 minutes to take a commanding 25 point lead into the final quarter. A jumper by Morris with just over seven minutes left in that third quarter cut it to 74-71, but that was as close as Boston would be the rest of the night. The hosts ended the quarter on a 24-2 run, with Giannis scoring 11 of those points.
Milwaukee cruised in the final 12 to tie the series and pushed the lead to as many as 31 in the fourth, as the scene of the series now will switch to Boston for the next two games. Antenkoumpo finished with 29 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Middleton had 28 points and seven rebounds (7-10 three pointers). Bledsoe had 21 points and five assists, while Brook Lopez and Hill both had 10 points. Morris led three players in double figures for Boston with 17 points and seven rebounds. Jaylen Brown had 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Horford finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. The Bucks made 20 three point baskets in the game, as compared to just 10 for the Celtics.
Game three is set for Friday at 8 pm at TD Garden in Boston.
