Boston, Massachusetts.- The NBA will have a new champion. The Boston Celtics dominated the reigning Milwaukee Bucks in the seventh game of the series, prevailed by a resounding 109-81 and guaranteed their passage to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Miami Heat was already waiting for them, after beating the 76ers by 4-2.
The key to Boston’s victory was the effectiveness of one and the other with the shot of three. Milwaukee challenged role players (particularly Grant Williams) to take a lot more shots than usual, but they responded with flying colors.
Grant Williams finished with 27 points (the game’s top scorer) and a 7-18 three-point shooting, while Payton Pritchard added another 5 triples, for a set of Ime Udoka who shot a spectacular 22-55 three-pointer.
Milwaukee was the other side of the coin: 4-for-33 from 3-point range, including a combined 0-for-18 between perimeter guards Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, Pat Connaughton and Wes Matthews. Khris Middleton’s loss was felt more than ever.
Giannis Antetokounmpo made up for some of that ineffectiveness with a very good first half, but he had a second half at the bottom of the playoffs, missing a high number of layups and other shots usually comfortable for him. Giannis finished with 25 points, 20 rebounds and 9 assists but it was not a good performance for the Greek (10 of 26 from the field).
Those who did rise to the challenge were the stars of the Celtics: Jayson Tatum finished with 23 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds, while Jaylen Brown contributed 19 points and 8 rebounds, shooting 50% from the field in both cases. Boston will now face a much more rested Miami, but that will have to put a stop to who at this moment looks like the best team in the entire NBA.
In Milwaukee there was 2:03 on the court for the Argentine Luca Vildoza, contributing 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist.
Information: NBA.
