Boston Celtics at Milwaukee Bucks

When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee Bucks looks to claim a berth in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001 when they host the Boston Celtics tonight in Game 5 of the conference semifinals. The Bucks haven’t lost three straight games all season, which only makes Boston’s comeback task seem more daunting.

The Celtics won the series opener before losing the next three games and point guard Kyrie Irving is a porous 19-of-62 shooting during the trio of setbacks. “Who cares? I’m a basketball player,” Irving said after Monday’s 113-101 loss in Game 4. “Prepare the right way. Like I said, it’s a little different when your rhythm is challenged every play down. You’re being picked up full court. They’re doing things to test you. The expectations on me are going to be sky-high.”

Bucks MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo is clearly the best player on the floor and he had 39 points and 16 rebounds in Game 4 and is averaging 30.5 points and 11.5 rebounds in the series. “Good players, when they have an opportunity like this, they don’t waste it,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “At the end of the day, I’ve got to do whatever it takes to help my team win.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE CELTICS: Another loss could be the final game in a Boston uniform for Irving, who is set to become a free agent after the season and isn’t displaying any sign that he would welcome a return. But whether he regains his shooting stroke or not in Game 5, the Celtics know there is no margin for error with few outsiders seeing them as candidates to win three straight games. “I know probably to the outside world we probably don’t stand much of a chance,” Boston center Al Horford told reporters. “We’re at a low point as a group, I guess that’s the reality. We’ll have to bring that fight to them on Wednesday.”

ABOUT THE BUCKS: Backup guards George Hill and Pat Connaughton have stepped up with strong efforts as Milwaukee continues to play without former Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon (foot). Hill is averaging 18 points over the past two games and 13.8 for the series, while Connaughton is averaging 8.3 points and 8.3 rebounds and has two double-digit rebounding outings. “Some nights, the starters might not have it going,” Connaughton told reporters after Game 4. “The effort and the energy when we check into the game, that’s something George, me, everybody on the bench prides ourselves in. That is the ‘Bench Mob.'”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Celtics PG Marcus Smart (oblique) made his first postseason appearance in Game 4 and had three points on 1-of-7 shooting in 15 minutes.
2. Antetokounmpo has eight career 30-point postseason efforts, tying franchise legend Marques Johnson for second most in team history.
3. Boston PF Marcus Morris recorded 18 points and 14 rebounds in Game 4 and is averaging 17 points and 9.7 rebounds over the past three games.

Milwaukee Bucks at Boston Celtics

When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, May 6, 2019
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Preview for Digital Sports Desk by Gracenote

BOSTON – The Milwaukee Bucks insisted after a lopsided loss in Game 1 that they didn’t need to make any drastic changes and just needed to increase the aggressiveness and execution, and it turned out they were right. The Bucks will try to take a 3-1 lead in the series when they visit the Boston Celtics for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight.

Milwaukee showed off that aggressiveness in Game 3 with superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo repeatedly crashing the paint, resulting in 22 free-throw attempts. “I’m just going to keep being aggressive,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “That’s what my teammates want me to do. I love getting to the free-throw line. I’ve worked on it. I’m shooting my free throws with confidence, so it’s easy points for me and my teammates. I’m just going to keep being aggressive and making the right plays, and sometimes if I’ve got to take it all the way, then I’ll take it all the way.” 

The Celtics were not so fond of the way the game was being called and voiced their displease after the 123-116 setback, which dropped Boston to 12-2 at home in the last two postseasons. “Guy comes down almost six times in a row and gets free throws,” Boston point guard Kyrie Irving told reporters. “What are you really going to do? It’s slowing the game down. The run that you would hope to make in a quarter like that doesn’t happen. I mean, he shot 22 on the game. It’s getting ridiculous at this point. It’s just slowing the (expletive) game down.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE BUCKS: Antetokounmpo led the way in Game 3 with 32 points on 8-of-13 shooting (16-of-22 from the free-throw line) but it was the supporting cast that pushed Milwaukee over the edge. Shooting guard Pat Connaughton scored 14 points and George Hill led the “Bench Mob” with 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting in 29 minutes. “On the road, in this environment, that’s when coaches talk about needing guys who have experience, that have been there and that understand what it takes,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. “George in his performance tonight is the prime example of that.”

ABOUT THE CELTICS: Irving scored 26 points on 12-of-21 shooting in a 112-90 win in Game 1 but went a combined 12-of-40 from the floor in Games 2 and 3, including 3-of-13 from 3-point range. “I need to just keep my eyes on the rim and just be efficient in that paint area,” Irving told reporters. “… It’s really just about being efficient, especially the rest of this series. From this point on, I don’t think you’ll see another 8-for-22 or any missed layups or looking for the refs for calls or anything like that. … When I do get in there, I’m looking to score and looking to finish with contact, whether the refs call it or not.” Small forward Gordon Hayward is enduring similar struggles and is 3-of-13 from the floor in the last two games.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Celtics G Marcus Smart (oblique) is expected to participate in practice on Sunday but remains questionable for Monday.
2. Bucks G Malcolm Brogdon (foot) is working out and is questionable for Game 4.
3. Milwaukee SF Khris Middleton is 13-of-20 from 3-point range in the series.

Milwaukee Bucks 123, Boston Celtics 116

When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, May 3, 2019
Where: TD Garden, Boston
Attendance: 18,624
Special to Digital Sports Desk by Field Level Media

BOSTON – The Milwaukee Bucks used a run late in the third quarter to take the lead for good, then rode balanced scoring to keep the host Boston Celtics at arm’s length throughout the fourth period en route to a 123-116 victory Friday night in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Up 2-1 in the best-of-seven set, the top-seeded Bucks will seek a third consecutive win when the clubs meet again Monday night in Boston.

The Celtics scored 10 of the game’s first 12 points and led for most of the first half, going up by as many as 12 at one point.

However, the Bucks caught up on two free throws by Khris Middleton at the 4:25 mark of the third period and then took a lead they never relinquished at 81-79 when George Hill dropped in a layup on their next possession.

Hill (two) and Middleton (one) combined for three subsequent 3-pointers in what turned into a 16-3 burst that produced a 93-82 lead near period’s end.

The Celtics never threatened over the final 12 minutes, with Middleton and Pat Connaughton burying 3-pointers and Giannis Antetokounmpo contributing eight points to a fourth-quarter pull-away.

Only a generally meaningless 13-5 game-closing flurry by the Celtics made the final score deceptively close.

Coming off a 29-point performance in Game 2, Antetokounmpo was even better in Game 3, leading all scorers with 32 points. Half his scoring came on a 16-for-22 night at the free throw line.

Antetokounmpo completed a double-double with a game-high 13 rebounds, and he also contributed a game-high eight assists.

Hill (21 points) and Connaughton (14) combined for six 3-pointers and 35 points off the Milwaukee bench, while Middleton chipped in with 20 points and Nikola Mirotic 13 in the balanced attack.

The Bucks outshot the Celtics 50.6 percent to 43.2 percent.

All five Boston starters scored in double figures, led by Kyrie Irving with 29 points.

Jayson Tatum had 20 points, Jaylen Brown 18, Al Horford 17, Marcus Morris 16 and reserve Gordon Hayward 10 for the Celtics, who split games with the Bucks at home in the regular season.

Tatum grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.

–Field Level Media