The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Boston Celtics 104-102 earlier this afternoon to even their first round playoff series at two games a piece. This was an absolutely critical win for Milwaukee because going down 3-1 heading back to Boston for game 5 would’ve basically been a death sentence.
The Bucks rode their momentum from game 3 and came out scoring well and playing stifling defense. This peaked around 7:30 mark in the 3rd quarter when Giannis threw one down to take a 20-point lead. Unfortunately, the Bucks weren’t able to sustain this margin as Boston closed the gap, tying the game at 77 with seven minutes to play.
If you’ve followed the team this year you know this might be the best lead-squandering bunch of all time. Literally no margin of points and no amount of time on the clock can make me feel comfortable. I’m not sure if I’ll ever get over what happened in Denver. So when the lead started to dwindle I knew exactly what was about to happen and it brought about way more stress than I was ready to handle on a Sunday afternoon.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are a scary duo, and at 21 and 20 years old respectively, it’s wild imagining what the future looks like in Boston and they were hitting shots today. Jaylen poured in 34 while draining 5 of 8 three point attempts as he led the Celtic comeback. With 52 seconds to play Tatum knocked down a 17-footer to put the C’s up by one 100-99.
On the other end Giannis missed a layup and Brown led a fast break that gets broken up by Khris Middleton, on what may or may not have been a foul. I’m sure it’ll get mentioned in the NBA’s 2-minute report. This leads to a quick 3 on the other end from Brogdon, off a nice next pass from Bledsoe. Horford hit a couple free throws to even things up and the Bucks take possession with 29 seconds to go, the score 102-102.
Bledsoe runs the clocks down, Tatum seals off Giannis, ball goes to Brogdon who drives and throws up a tough runner that rims out; but our man, the Greek Freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo is there for the tip in to put the Bucks ahead with 5 ticks on the clock. Boston runs a play to get Marcus Morris one on one against Khris, which I thought was an odd decision considering Jaylen was shooting the lights out, his mid-range jumper goes off the rim and that’s the ball game. Of course the referees had to give everyone one last anxiety attack as they decided to review the final play (I’m still not entirely sure what they were looking for), but it gets called clear and the Bucks win.
A few takeaways from today’s game:
Jabari had what I think was his best overall performance since returning to the lineup. 16 points, 7 boards, 3 blocks, 2 steals, and an assist. He was locked and engaged defensively, which you love to see from him. He honestly looks like a completely different person since commenting about his frustrations to the media.
Another great game from Thon as well. He came off the bench, but played 31 minutes to Zeller’s 11, and added 5 blocks and two 3’s to his series stat-line. He hasn’t played this well or with this much confidence since last year’s series against the Raptors. It’s great to see him bounce back after a bit of a slump, it was starting to get pretty lonely here on “Thon Maker Island”.
I love this starting lineup and these rotations. Prunty stuck with a nine-man rotation, DNP-CD’ing Terry, Sterling, Shabazz, and Jennings. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens when Henson returns from his injury, which I assume will be Tuesday or Thursday.
The Bucks still gave up a bunch of second chance points and if they lose this series that will be their downfall. That and Jaylen Brown’s ice cold jumper. But you’ve gotta feel pretty good right now if you’re a Bucks fan. If you told me at the beginning of this series that we could be tied up after 4 games, I 100% would’ve taken it. Momentum is on Milwaukee’s side heading back to Boston as they try to win their first playoff series since 2001.
Oh, and Giannis destroyed Al Horford.
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