The Bucks put the Celtics on edge, displaying championship pedigree

BOSTON – What happened?

Later-what or what just happened?

The Bucks beat the Celtics 110-107 on Wednesday, capturing 3-2 in the series.

and seriously –How do Did that happen?

“We beat ourselves up,” said Marcus Smart, the Boston guard.

“We know we missed out on a golden opportunity tonight,” said coach Aimee Odoka.

Forward Jaylen Brown added, “We gave it up.”

In the wild and unpredictable NBA playoffs – the Grizzlies beat the Warriors by quantity? – This game may top them all. Ten minutes of play, Boston 14 ends this match. It wasn’t that the Celtics were playing so well. far from it. Jason Tatum scored 34 points…but needed 29 shots to get it. Brown had 26. Game Champion 4, eight. Daniel Theis, who once again fell out of dust with Robert Williams’ absence, was the Celtics’ only substitute in the double.

Milwaukee was unable to assemble. At least they shouldn’t have been. He had no firepower. At least they didn’t show up. How many times have we been reminded of how great Boston’s defense is? No way can the dollars come back against it. With Chris Middleton left out, the series’ last outing was (Gianniss) Antetokounmo’s show. Scored 42 points in game 3 win. Scored 34 in game 4 loss. Early in game 5, the Bucks attempted to move the ball. Johnny Holiday scored nine points. Grayson Allen had five. Bobby Portes cracked four of the bench.

But when the Celtics’ defense tightened, Giannis took over. He scored 15 points in the second quarter. The remaining four dollars were recorded. He added 13 in third place. On the go, Antetokounmpo was unstoppable. Beat the smaller defenders. He stomped around the bigger euro. He pulled 11 rebounds, hit the free throw line 10 times and hooked nearly 60% of his shots.

But he had no help. In three quarters, only one Bucks player, Holiday, has broken the double digits. He had 16 points, but needed 16 shots to do so. Wesley Matthews contributed nothing. Brooke Lopez was a non-worker. Boston had beaten Milwaukee in the fourth quarter of the previous two games and had the NBA’s No. 1 defense to shut it out.

They just don’t. Pat Connaughton cut all three with eight minutes remaining to lead to number one. A pair of Bobby Portis free throws made him a six. With less than a minute to play the feast hit three tied it. Dollars fell by 2 when Antetokounmpo went to the free throw line 14 seconds before the end of the match. I made the first. He missed the second but Portis, who was back in rotation after playing only 15 minutes in Match 4, pulled the rebound and went back inside.

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Boston still has a chance. Out of the time limit, Smart appeared for free on the baseline. Short runner lined up. Then Holiday, perhaps the best defender in the NBA not named Smart, Came for mass. “That’s what Jrue does,” Antetokounmpo says. Two free throws from Connaughton extended the lead to three. The last-second smart vacation heist ended the game.

David Butler II / USA Today Sports

Credit Milwaukee, Brown said. “They’re playing hard for 48 minutes. We got away with what we’re doing well of late. We weren’t so purposeful and it cost us.”

Championship DNA is a phrase loosely thrown around in sports. very loosely. I just offered him dollars. They could have folded in the fourth quarter. They have been laughably outdone. Middleton’s absence forced Antetokounmpo on a steady diet of solitude and propelled Holiday into the second-scorer position he wasn’t really comfortable with. The loss in Boston, at eardrum division yard, was an apology.

But they did not fold. The Bucks conceded nine points in the last eight minutes. Antetokounmue, who struggled with his three-point shot in each series, defeated the Big One. Matthews did, too. Portez made four free throws in the last eight minutes. Even as the offense fades, the Pax never lose faith in each other.

“We are always disciplined,” Antetokounmo said. “We always give our all…Most of the time we do the right thing. Sometimes things just don’t go our way. I think everyone trusts each other and that we’re going to play right. That we’re going to go over. We’re always going to be there no matter what. The result.I feel like this group, no matter what the outcome, we can go home and feel good about ourselves.When we watch a movie, it’s never about “You have to do more” or “You should protect this guy better.” Effort From our side, from this team, most of the time is always there.”

The series returns to Milwaukee on Friday and Game 6 numbers to be totally tight. These are two types of elite defenses. It’s Pistons Bad Boy vs. the mid-’90s Knicks. Pernell Whitaker vs Floyd Mayweather. The steel curtain against the monsters of the middle of the road. Every possession between these two teams was a street fight. At some point, in the late fourth quarter, Giannis took a shot in the side of the eye that was tearing blood.

But the dollars pushed the Celtics over the edge. Boston has shown great determination this season, adjusting to a new coach, surviving a horrific start, and battling through injuries and illnesses related to COVID. They would need to show more of him to beat Milwaukee on her home ground.