The defending NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks, playing without one of their top players in Khris Middleton, went into Boston and took down the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference Semifinal series 101-89 at TD Garden Sunday afternoon.
Milwaukee, who trailed by as many as eight points in the first quarter, took the lead for good 33-32 on a turnaround jumper by Bobby Portis with 9:26 left in the first half. The Bucks built their lead to 10 at the break on two free throws by Giannis Antetokounmpo. After the guests went up 12 early in the third, a pair of three-pointers on back to back possessions by the Celtics Jayson Tatum sliced it to six. Six is the closest Boston would get the rest of the way however, as they shot just 33% from the floor. Milwaukee would build their biggest advantage of the day of 17 at 92-75 on a three-pointer by Jrue Holiday with 7:38 left to play. Payton Pritchard and Derrick White had to play extended minutes, as Marcus Smart was banged up and was seen limping noticeably back to the locker room after the game.
Tatum led Boston in the loss with 21 points, six rebounds, and six assists. Al Horford and Jaylen Brown had 12 points a piece, while Smart and White had 10 each. Holiday finished with a game high 25 points, also adding nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals for Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo had a triple double with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists. He also had two blocked shots. Portis would also contribute a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Bucks are without Middleton for the duration of this series, as he was injured in a game two loss to Chicago in the first round and has a Grade 2 ankle sprain and hasn’t played since. Game two is Tuesday night in Boston at 7 p.m. The Celtics also set a new franchise record in the defeat Sunday, making just 10 two-point field goals. The previous franchise low was 14 in a regular season game against Toronto back on 12/9/16.
