Jayson Tatum had a game high 46 points on Friday night, and the Boston Celtics withstood another fourth quarter rally by the Milwaukee Bucks to force a winner take all Game 7 with a 108-95 win at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in Game 6 of an Eastern Conference Semifinal Playoff series.
Boston led most of the first quarter, and by as many as nine, and held a 28-26 advantage after the opening 12 minutes. The Celtics went up 40-30 just over three minutes in the second on a Tatum three-pointer and a driving hook that he banked in off the glass. Milwaukee went on a 9-2 run to cut it to 42-39, but the guests finished the first half strong scoring 11 of the final 15 points of the period for a 10 point lead at the break 53-43.
The C’s really starting to pour it on in the third quarter, and when Jaylen Brown buried a three-pointer it was 68-50 just 4:40 in. Boston still held a comfortable lead headed to the fourth 82-70. The Bucks made one more push at it, led by no other than Giannis Antetokounmpo who had another massive game. A three-pointer by Pat Connaughton would slice the margin to 84-78 with still 9:47 to play, sending the Fiserv Forum into pandemonium thinking comeback as they had done in Boston in a Game 5 victory. But the fans would leave disappointed, as Tatum was too much scoring 16 in the final 12 minutes including several key shots to send his team back to Boston with homecourt advantage for a Game 7 on Sunday.
Tatum added nine rebounds and four assists to his point total, including 7 for 15 from three-point range. Brown would finish with 22 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Marcus Smart, who was critizied after the Game 5 loss, would step up as well with 21 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Tatum, Brown (4 for 7), and Smart (5 for 9) combined to shoot 16-31 from the three-point arc. Antetokounmpo continued his big series going for 44 points, 20 rebounds, six assists, and two blocks in the loss for Milwaukee. Game 7 is Sunday afternoon at TD Garden at 3:30 p.m. The winner of that game will get the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals.
