3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ vile Game 2 loss to Boston Celtics

Giannis Antetokounmpo played one of his ugliest playoff games to date in the Milwaukee Bucks’ Game 2 loss to Boston Celtics

Although the Milwaukee Bucks won in Game 1, Giannis Antetokounmpo struggled to find his shot throughout the game. Boston’s robust defense deserves some credit for that as they made things as difficult as possible for Antetokounmpo whenever he touched the ball. Many wondered how he would respond to this pestering defense in Game 2, and the results were certainly mixed.

The first half of this game was unlike any performance by Antetokounmpo before as he looked like an entirely different player. The forward scored just five points on a lackluster 2-of-12 shooting on his field-goal attempts, with three of those misses coming from deep. Due to Boston’s defense inside, Antetokounmpo settled for jumper after jumper, and those shots just would not fall for him with any consistency. When he did take it to the rim, Antetokounmpo had several bad misses that were just painful to watch. He looked rattled throughout the first half, and his struggles were a big reason the Bucks found themselves facing a sizeable deficit at the break.

Following his poor showing in the first half, Antetokounmpo came out aggressive to start the third quarter and scored six points within the first two minutes of action. He looked frustrated following a tough first half, and understandably so. Antetokounmpo kept the ball rolling throughout the rest of the period and finished with 18 points in the third alone and 23 in the second half. In total, the Greek Freak finished with 28 points, but it took him 27 shots to get there. He is certainly capable of doing better than that. While it was great to see Antetokounmpo show some signs of life after his discombobulated first half, the Milwaukee Bucks will need more of him from the start moving forward. He can start with Game 3 as this series shifts to Milwaukee tied up at 1-1.

Both teams will have a few days off as Game 3 is not until Saturday, so they should be well-rested before then. Be sure to catch the action at 2:30 p.m. CST on ABC as the Milwaukee Bucks attempt to rebound from this tough Game 2 loss.