NBA PLAYOFFS -- The Greek Freak leads Bucks to easy Game 2 victory
By Taha Qureshi
PhilBoxing.com
Thu, 02 May 2019
MILWAUKEE -- After a tepid Game 1 in which he made only 7-of-21 shots to finish with 22 points, Giannis Antetokounmpo bounced back in the big way and led the Bucks to a 123-102 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Greek Freak led all scorers on Tuesday night (Wednesday AM in Manila) with 29 points and 10 rebounds. He canned 7-of-16 field goals, including 2-of-4 from long distance.
With naked aggression, Giannis relentlessly attacked the basket and was rewarded with 18 free throws, swishing 13 in front of an energized Fiserv Forum which was packed with 17,536 of Milwaukee's faithful.
Khris Middleton helped Antetokounmpo carry the scoring load with 28 points while Eric Bledsoe unshackled himself from Boston's suffocating defense and escaped with 21 points and five dimes.
Milwaukee's bench, also came alive with 26 points. The Bucks, who shot just 34 percent from the field in Game 1, finished Game 2 with 39 of 89 shooting from the field (43.8 percent) and 20-of-47 from three-land (42.6 percent). They also fared well from the free throw line, converting 25 of 31.
"I liked our spirit, our activity, our competitiveness all up and down the roster. Giannis and Khris and Bled really set the tone," Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said of his team's comeback which averted what would have been a steep 0-2 deficit in this Eastern Conference semifinals series.
Game 3 of the best-of-7 affair is Friday (Saturday morning in Manila) at the TD Garden in Boston.
The Celtics lead 30-25 after one quarter of play and trailed only by four, 59-55, at the half. But the Bucks blew them out of the building in the third quarter and led by 25 to start the final period.
Marcus Morris topped the visiting Celtics with 17 points and seven boards. Al Horford accounted for 15 and eight boards while Jaylen Brown had 16.
But Boston's leader, Kyrie Irving, struggled mightily in what was perhaps his worst playoffs game. The one-time NBA champion and multiple All-Star missed 14 of his 18 field goals and finished with only nine points and four assists. Irving was abysmal from long distance, going just 1-for-8.
Irving is eager for redemption.
"Being able to go back, get back in the trenches, get ready for another battle on Friday, that's what you live for. Basketball is fun when it comes like this and you have to respond, and this is the type of basketball you want to be playing this time of year," he told reporters.
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