Giannis ruins Garden party
Bucks star has triple-double in Game 1 road win over Celtics
BOSTON — Giannis Antetokounmpo had already picked up his dribble and spent half of a Eurostep when he realized he had nowhere to go with the ball.
Instead of attempting an off-balance shot or passing the ball to a well-guarded teammate, the two-time NBA MVP flicked the ball high off the backboard, then followed it to the rim for a slam dunk.
“That’s just pure talent, just pure instinct,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said on Sunday after Antetokounmpo recorded his second career postseason triple-double in a 101-89 victory over the Boston Celtics.
“He’s a great player. He does things that are unique and special and timely,” Budenholzer said. “That’s one of those plays where you’re happy he’s on our side.”
Antetokounmpo had 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists as Milwaukee quickly grabbed home-court advantage in the second-round series. Jrue Holiday had 25 points and 10 rebounds and Bobby Portis had 15 points and 11 boards for the defending NBA champions.
Game 2 is Tuesday night in Boston.
Jayson Tatum scored 21 and Jaylen Brown had 12 points, but the two Boston stars combined to shoot 10 for 31 in the game. Al Horford added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who fired up 50 3-pointers, making 18, and shot 33% from the floor as a team.
“Offensively, not our best night. I thought we guarded well enough,” Celtics coach Ime Udoka said. “To lose a 12-point game when we shot so poorly bodes well for us. In a way it’s good to get this dud out of the way, offensively.”
After shutting down Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a four-game sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, Boston couldn’t stop Antetokounmpo — even with greenhaired Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart shaking off a shoulder injury.
Warriors beat Grizzlies despite Green’s ejection: Klay Thompson hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 36 seconds left, and the Golden State Warriors overcame Draymond Green’s firsthalf ejection to edge the Memphis Grizzlies 117-116 on Sunday in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
Jordan Poole led the Warriors with 31 points off the bench, hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers. Stephen Curry added 24 points, Andrew Wiggins had 17 and Thompson finished with 15.
Green was ejected for a flagrant foul just before halftime.
Thompson missed both free throws with 6.7 seconds left, then Memphis won a jump ball before taking a timeout with 3.6 seconds remaining to set up the final play. The Grizzlies ran a play similar to Ja Morant’s last-second layup to win Game 5 in the first round, but Morant’s layup went over the rim.
Morant finished with 34 points and 10 assists, and Jaren Jackson Jr. matched his season high with six 3-pointers and had a careerhigh 33 points as Memphis’ first pair of teammates to score at least 30 in a playoff game. D’Anthony Melton added 14, and Brandon Clarke had 12.