Giannis Gala and suffocating Bucks defense! Milwaukee makes a statement with the Boston Celtics

The Milwaukee Bucks made a small exclamation mark in Game 1 of the Conference Semifinals at the Boston Celtics even without Khris Middleton. In the 101:89 win, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored badly from the field, but dominated all other facets of the game. The Celtics’ stars disappoint.

Giannis Antetokounmpo put on a triple-double (24 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) and was the man of the game despite a poor shooting rate (9/25 FG, 6/11 FT). Top scorer for the Bucks was Jrue Holiday with 25 points, who also grabbed 10 rebounds and convinced on the defensive (3 steals). As a Middleton representative, Bobby Portis also contributed a double-double (15 points, 10 rebounds).

The two stars on the Celtics’ side each performed poorly. Jayson Tatum added 21 points, but fell back into old patterns in terms of efficiency (6/18 FG), and Jaylen Brown also experienced a real night of horror (12, 4/13 FG, 7 TO). Robert Williams returned to the starting five after his injury, Daniel Theis only came off the bench for 4 minutes (2 points, 1 rebound).

The Bucks’ first possession was a taster for one of the most important matchups of the series: Giannis vs. Horford. The experienced Big Man forced a turnover, a problem Milwaukee had throughout the first quarter. The Bucks lost 7 balls, but the Celtics could only do little with the resulting fast break situations, and the numerous open threes didn’t really want to fall (4/11 3 FG).

After a timeout and a heated argument between Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer and Holiday, the visitors put more pressure on the ball on the defensive, forcing the Celts to make mistakes. Giannis found his way into the zone several times and served his teammates on the perimeter (4 assists), which put Milwaukee slightly ahead after the first 12 minutes (27:24).

Giannis Antetokounmpo is against Boston everywhere

The star duo of the Celts, consisting of Tatum and Brown, was not a factor in the first round (5/18 FG, 6 TO together), Tatum in particular often dribbled and had problems completing the ring. Giannis, on the other hand, had a dominant first half (14 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists), the Greek was directly involved in 34 points for the Bucks and mercilessly put his stamp on the game. Milwaukee did most of the damage from long range (10/20 3FG), resulting in a 10-point lead for the visitors at halftime.

Tatum sank his first two attempts from downtown at the start of the second half and seemed keen to make the weak first half forget. But the guests quickly took the wind out of the sails of the Celtics’ initial offensive. Holiday threw hell at the Celtics’ perimeter players on defense, while behind him Brook Lopez patrolled the zone and protected the basket. Although the Bucks cooled down a bit (0/8 3FG), Holiday and Portis kept the guests afloat on the offensive. Giannis unnecessarily collected his third and fourth fouls late in the third quarter and was sent to the bench, but even without the Greek Freak, Boston couldn’t capitalize on the minutes.

In the final quarter, the guests ensured clear conditions early on and kept their lead in the double digits. After a Holiday triple to 92:78, Brad Stevens saw enough, the TV cameras caught the Celtics president leaving his seat about seven minutes before the end. The Celts didn’t really gasp, in the end head coach Ime Udoka threw in the white towel two minutes before the final buzzer and emptied his bench.