Bucks 86 vs 109 Celtics summary: stats and highlights | NBA Playoffs
The Boston Celtics will head to Milwaukee the series even at a game a piece after a resounding Game 2 win over the Bucks at the TD Garden. Jaylen Brown exploded in the first half and finished the game with 30 points in the 109-86 victory.
Brown bounces back
Milwaukee was able to shut down the Celtics stars in the opening game, as Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were kept quiet in the Bucks win. That would not be the case in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Jaylen Brown came into the game bothered by a hamstring injury that might have had something to do with him being held to just 12 points in Game 1. He came to the gym three hours early to get the hamstring loose and it looked like it paid off.
He went off for 17 points in the first half as the Celtics jumped out to a double digit lead early in the first quarter. It was a complete role reversal from the opening game in the series, as the Celtics’ defense swarmed the Bucks all night. Through the first six minutes of the game, Milwaukee scored just two points.
Williams fills Smarts shoes on defense
Grant Williams was a big part of the lock down look from the Celtics defense. With Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart out with a thigh contusion, Williams took over. He shadowed Giannis Antetokounmpo all night and contained the Greek to just five first half points.
Williams was burning the candle on both ends in Game 2. Not only did he silence Giannis, but he scored a career high 21 points.
With Brown going wild on the offensive and and Giannis being contained the Celtics took a 25 point lead to halftime. The Bucks would not get within less than 12 for the rest of the game as the Celtics cruised to victory.
The series heads back to Milwaukee, but Game 3 won’t be played until Saturday which will give guys like Marcus Smart time to rest and recover before tip off from Fiserv Forum.
Brown caps his 30 point night with this offensive rebound and put back.
Tatum hit this dagger after MIL tried to mount a final comeback bid. This would trigger a 15-4 run to end the game.
Brown with the dime to Williams
25 points for the man that was reported to have a hamstring injury before the game.
Everything was working for the Celtics in the first half. They shot 59% from the field and made 13-20 threes before halftime.
For as well as Brown and Tatum played, Grant Wiliams may have been the stand out performer after shutting down Giannis for much of the night.
Brown got things going on the offensive end early after a sub par Game 1.
Jaylen Brown got the Celitcs off to a fantastic start in the first quarter, and Boston would strap down defensively to maintain the wire-to-wire win.
It's all over from Boston! We are headed to Milwaukee with the series tied at 1-1.
Hauser at the line for the Celitcs as both coaches have put their subs in.
Williams in the corner for three!! That's his sixth long ball of the night!!
Tatum for three!! He's got 29 on the night!!
Tatum at the line and he hits with 2:51 to go in the fourth.
Giannis has been getting easier buckets of late. That time he spins off Williams and hits the lay up.
Brown with the long rebound and spinning put back!.
Holiday getes fouled by Horford and he goes to the line where he hits one of two.
Tatum with the three ball to extinguish and threat of a comeback with under 4 minutes to go!
Giannis goes back to the line. The 10 count continues from the Boston crowd as the Greek hits both.
Allen to the iron with a wide open lay up.
Tatum doing it all on his own with a slither to the rack.
Allen to the line, and one of two drops.
Connaughton going to the rack after just hitting the deck on a collision with williams. He seems to be ok.
Williams at the line and he goes one of two from the line.
Holiday gets the short runner to go, Now the Bucks need stops.
G. Williams with another three ball! He's got 17 on the night.
Connaughton with the first bucket out of the timeout.
Timeout MIL with 8:25 to go in the 4th.
Giannis hits one of two from the FT line as the fans continue to count out the 10 seconds.
Brown for three, and those are his first points of the second half. He's got 28 on the night.
Portis taking advantage of a mismatch down low.
R. Williams from the baseline and that a rare jumper for the big man.
Lopez is finally on the board with an offensive rebound and put back.
We are headed to the fourth quarter with a fifteen point game! Boston has had a commanding all night long.
Giannis and Portis with back to back buckets and the Bucks are looking to cut into this lead as much as possible before the fourth quarter.
Portis on the floater down the lane.
Tatum with the slam out of the timeout and that gets this TD Garden crowd off their feet!
Williams on the soaring dunk in transition off the Bucks turnover! The lead is back over 20. Timeout with 1:45 to go in the third.
Tatum in the paint, throws up a leaner after getting fouled, gets it to go and gets fouled. FT is no good. Bad news for BOS, Brown goes to the bench grabbing his hamstring.
Giannis going into the belly of the Defense, gets the basket and one! He's got 16 this quarter after the missed FT.
Giannis going back to work down low.
Tatun with Mattews draped all over him and he still drops the mid range pull up.
Grant Williams hits the three out of the timeout and how big has he been all game long? That breaks the 10-0 run.
Holiday follows up with a mid range jumper and the Bucks are on a 10-0 run. Timeout Celtics who are having a tough time on the offensive end. 4:49 to go in the third quarter.
Giannis using his strength to get to the bucket and the lead is cut to under 20 for the first time in a while.
6 minutes to go in the third
Giannis gets the lead back to 20 and the Celtics will take a precautionary timeout.
Holiday pickup up the scraps on the offensive rebound!.
Giannis with a rare mid range jumper tonight.
Portis called for a flagrant 1 after landing on Al Horford. Horford drops both and the Celtics get the ball back.
Giannis hits a three ball, but Tatum comes right back with one of his own.
Williams slashing to the rack off the behind the back pass from Brown.
Giannis wins the tip against Tatum after a tie up and takes it all the way to the rack. He gets the foul and 1! FT is no good.
Giannis at the line and he hits 1 of 2.
We are back in play for the second half from TD Garden!!!
When the ball is getting moved around like this, it's hard to lose.
Brown drops Allen and sinks the jumper for a highlight you will see more than a few times over the next couple of days.
Williams is putting in work on both ends. He's shutting down Giannis and also is in double digits at half.
Brown starting the night off on the right foot.
Holiday has 11 points, but none of the Bucks are having an easy day at the office. This BOS defense looks much improved in Game 2. Connaughton has 9 points off the bench, but the Bucks need Giannis to show up.
Tatum warmed up in the last few minutes of the half. He' goes to the break with 10 ponts and Grant Williams is having himself a night on the offensive and defensive end. Williams has 11 points and is shutting down Giannis who has just 5 points on the night.
Brown is making up for lost time tonight. He had a sluggish Game 1 because of a sore hamstring. He was in the gym three hours early making sure his hamstring was loose enough. I'd say the extra gym time is paying off.
He went 9/10 from the field and is 5/5 from three point distance.
We are headed to halftime and the Celtics are leading by 25 points thanks to a heroic effort from Jaylen Brown!!!
Brown ending a specatcular first half with a three ball! He's got 25 on the night!
Brown stops, spins and drops the mid range jumper in the lane. 22 point lead for the Celtics.
Connaughton drops a short range effort, but the Celtics continue to make it rain from downtown on the other end! This time it's G. Williams.
Holday with a short range bucket and then Giannis gets an and 1, hitting the FT. But Pritchard sandwiches a three ball in between Bucks baskets.
Tatum out of the timeout and he drops a three. The Bucks don't want to see him get hot with the way Brown is playing.
Giannis drive to the iron and he's got just his second basket of the night.
Tatum finds Horford wide open down low! Another bit of great ball movement and the Celitcs are firing on all cylinders tongiht.
Holiday gets a step back to go, but the Bucks are having to work for each of their baskets.
Boston forces the turnover right after the Horford three, and Tatum earns foul shots. He hits both and the Celtics lead by 20.
Great ball movement from Boston which leads to an Al Horfor three! The lead is now at a game high 18.
Portis to the line, and this game had suddenly got choppy.
R. Williams at the line and he drops both FTs. The lead is back to 17
Matthews at the line and he hits two of two.
Brown IS RED HOT!!! He's not happy with just the three, he thinks he got fouled too! He's 4/4 from downtown and has 20 points already! Timeout Bucks with 6:58 to go.
Williams off the dribble, adn the Celtics lead by 14 again
Carter hits the long two form the top of the key off the screen from Giannis.
Matthews gets the floater to go down the middle of the lane. Nothing coming easy for the Bucks at the moment.
Al Horford is timeless! He goes coach to coach and the veteran looking like he is in the prime of his career.
Pritchard hits a three after having one taken off the board early in the game. They won't be reviewing that one.
Watch Brown drop Allen.
Brown ends the first quarter with 17 points. Tatum has just five as he played a secondary role in those opening 12 minutes.
Holiday had 7 points and Giannis had just two.
Tatum with a buzzer beater to beat the first quarter horn. The assist came from... Brown of course.
Holiday to the line and he hits both FTs.
Brown for three again!!! This time with the shot clock winding down! He's got 17 points on the night already. He had no shot there, but the step back opened up an inch of space and that's all he needed.
Giannis unleashing on the rim for the first time today!. MIL is on a 7-0 run.
Conaughton with another bucket, this time down low on the drive and dish from Giannis.
Conaughton off the bench and on the board out of the timeout. Pritchard's three early in the quarter was taken off the board in the timeout after it was reviewed and ruled it was released after the shot clock expired.
Timeout in Boston with 2:07 to go in the first quarter. It has been all Celtics so far.
Brown with another cross over, this time he didn't drop anyone, but still hit the bucket and he's got 14 points.
The scoring is starting to heat up, as Jalen Brown continues to dazzle! Wait until you see what he just did to Grayson Allen!
Holiday on the step back for a much needed bucket for the Bucks.
Brown is shooting out of his mind! He's got 10 points in 6 minutes!
Williams drains a three and the TD Garden has erupted! Twelve point lead for Boston and the Bucks need an early timeout.
There's Tatum! Stroking a three and the Celtics are on fire to start this game. Much different look about them tonight on the offensive end.
Brown going to the line after a great bit of defense by Williams on Giannis. Brown taking the initiative early on, he's got seven of the first nine for the Celtics.
Portis gives the Bucks the first points of the night with a transition bucket and draws the foul three and a half minutes into the game. FT is good for the glasses donning Portis.
Brown with a three and the Celtics have the first seven points of the game.
There's Horford with the first of his night. He talked about how much last game hurt, and he's going to be a big reason for the success if Boston wins tonight.
Brown gets the friendly roll on the opening bucket of the game
We are underway from Boston!!! Huge Game 2 coming up from TD Garden.
Tonight's odds
According to Bet365.com the Boston Celtics are 5 points favorites tonight, with the Over/Under set at 215. Five is a lot of points to give a team that looked so good on the defensive end last game, having said that I think Udoka comes up with a plan to get Tatum back into the series and the Celtics not only win but cover as well.
Giannis is the star of the show, but will need some help from his supporting cast tongith from TD Garden.
Here is the Celtics' starting five with no Marcus Smart.
Giannis being freakish
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in sensational form of late and is coming off of his first triple double of the playoffs. The Greek is averaging 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game this post season. He was probably third favorite of the three MVP candidates, but is playing at a level that would make you think twice before betting against the Bucks to get back to the Finals.
Tatum hoping to bounce back
Jayson Tatum ended the season in MVP form as he propelled the Celtics up the Eastern Conference standings. The postseason has been no different. He’s posting 27.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 7 assists over the last five games and is playing a distributing role that helped Boston sweep the Nets in the opening series of the playoffs.
Giannis being freakish
Giannis Antetokounmpo has been in sensational form of late and is coming off of his first triple double of the playoffs. The Greek is averaging 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game this post season. He was probably third favorite of the three MVP candidates, but is playing at a level that would make you think twice before betting against the Bucks to get back to the Finals.
Season series after five games
The Celtics won the first two games of the regular season series, but Milwaukee’s win on Christmas Day started a streak of three straight wins for the Bucks including Sunday’s victory over Boston. Game 1 was the first time this season that the home team lost, but Boston will have their work cut out to keep from going 0-2 on the series.
Bad news for Boston
Marcus Smart has been ruled out of tonight's game. He left Game 1 with shoulder stinger, but that won't be the cause of him missing tonight's game. He has been diagnosed with a right thigh contusion.
Bad news for Boston
Marcus Smart has been ruled out of tonight's game. He left Game 1 with shoulder stinger, but that won't be the cause of him missing tonight's game. He has been diagnosed with a right thigh contusion.
Bucks limiting Brown and Tatum
Milwaukee’s defense was able to control Boston’s two best scorers in Game 1. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum were held to just 10 of 31 from the field as the Celtics were held to 33.3 % from the field.
Celtics coming off painful Game 1
Al Horford was brutally honest with reporters after the Game 1 loss in Boston. "This one should hurt a little bit," the Celtics' Al Horford said. "We have an opportunity now to learn from this game, see how we can be better as a group and come out and do that Tuesday."
Budenholzer sings Giannis' praises
Mike Budenhozler had nothing but praise for his two time MVP after his triple performance in Game 1. Refering to his incredible auto alley oop by the Greek the Bucks coach said "That's just pure talent, just pure instinct, He's a great player. He does things that are unique and special and timely. That's one of those plays where you're happy he's on our side."
The Garden is set for showtime tonight. Boston will be rocking as the fans will be pushing the C's towards evening up the series.
The Greek Freak is coming off of a triple double performance in Game 1, and walking into the TD Garden rocking the casual drip and a swag that comes with being up 1-0 on the road.
Game 1 recap
Giannis Antetokounmpo as he so often does in the playoffs took over in the first game from Boston. The Bucks took the lead before half-time and didn’t look back. The Bucks MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 24, 13 and 12 while Jrue Holiday added a game high 25 points and Milwaukee showed more of that championship winning defense holding Jayson Tatum to 21 points.
We are live from Boston
Hello everyone and welcome to Boston where the Celtics are hoping for a bounce back after losing their first game of the postseason. The Celtics swept the Nets in the first round, but the defending champs had their number in the series opener. The Bucks have a chance to take a commanding lead back to Milwaukee with a win tonight.
Bucks vs. Celtics
The Milwaukee Bucks took home court advantage from the Boston Celtics in the opening games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. AS English will be with you all night with live coverage, stats, scores and highlights of tonight’s Game 2 from TD Garden.
Game 1 recap
Giannis Antetokounmpo as he so often does in the playoffs took over in the first game from Boston. The Bucks took the lead before half-time and didn’t look back. The Bucks MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo went for 24, 13 and 12 while Jrue Holiday added a game high 25 points and Milwaukee showed more of that championship winning defense holding Jayson Tatum
We are live from Boston
Hello everyone and welcome to Boston where the Celtics are hoping for a bounce back after losing their first game of the postseason. The Celtics swept the Nets in the first round, but the defending champs had their number in the series opener. The Bucks have a chance to take a commanding lead back to Milwaukee with a win tonight.
Bucks vs. Celtics live
The Milwaukee Bucks took home court advantage from the Boston Celtics in the opening games of the Eastern Conference semifinals. AS English will be with you all night with live coverage, stats, scores and highlights of tonight’s Game 2 from TD Garden.