The Milwaukee Bucks put together a dominant performance keyed by renewed efforts from previously struggling players to pummel the Boston Celtics on Friday night, closing the series lead to 2-1.
With their backs against the wall, the Milwaukee Bucks delivered an impressive 116-92 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night in a game that looked vastly different than the first two in the series.
The Bucks jumped out to an 18-11 lead when Thon Maker entered the game for Tyler Zeller with 4:25 left in the first quarter, getting his chance with John Henson out due to a back injury.
In Games 1 and 2, the Bucks had struggled to close out the first quarters. The Bucks did not struggle to close out the first quarter in Game 3. Fueled by dominant defense by Maker including three blocks, the team finished the quarter leading 27-12.
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The second quarter saw similarly strong results with a great defensive performance fueled by constant switching. Matthew Dellavedova, Malcolm Brogdon, and Maker all drained three-pointers in the closing minutes to take the Bucks to the locker room up 58-35.
Although the Celtics closed the deficit slightly in the third quarter, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jabari Parker, and Khris Middleton took turns cooking the Celtics’ defense to keep the game comfortably in hand.
Antetokounmpo picked up his fifth foul less than two minutes into the fourth, but was not needed after that. Middleton drained shots, and Brad Stevens waved the white flag with 6:37 left and the Celtics trailing 103-78.
The Bucks finished off the win in which they led from the 8:19 mark in the first quarter onward and led by as much as 28. They now only trail the Celtics in the series by a single game.
We now dive into what worked well in the Bucks’ Game 3 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.