Bucks fill coach vacancy with former Hawks boss
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks have officially announced the hiring of Mike Budenholzer as their new coach.
Budenholzer replaces Joe Prunty, the former assistant who went 21-16 in the regular season after replacing the fired Jason Kidd in late January. The Bucks lost to Boston in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.
Budenholzer, 48, was 213197 in five seasons with the Hawks. Budenholzer was named the NBA coach of the year in 2015, when he led the Hawks to a franchiserecord 60 wins and an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.
He and the Hawks mutually agreed to part ways last month with two years remaining on his contract, allowing Budenholzer to pursue other opportunities.
Before joining the Hawks, Budenholzer spent 19 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs, including 17 years as an assistant coach.
Celtics
Home-court advantage has proven to be a valuable commodity for the Celtics so far this postseason. Boston is 9-0 at TD Garden during these playoffs and has blistered opponents early in games, shooting 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from the 3-point line. It’s often led to cushions that have helped the Celtics sustain opponents’ runs in the second half. But after boasting the third-best road record in the NBA during the regular season, the Celtics have looked like a totally different team since the postseason began. They are just 1-4 away from their building and seen their shooting numbers dip to 41 percent overall and 31 percent from beyond the arc. That can’t persist if Boston is going to have success as the series shifts to Cleveland on Saturday.
Elsewhere
Nike has announced it will sell a special edition Michael Jordan Bulls jersey on May 31 commemorating the last of his NBA championships nearly 20 years ago. Proceeds from the jersey sales — tied to “The Last Dance,” the just-announced 10-hour Netflix and ESPN Films documentary on Jordan and his 1990 Bulls title teams set for next year — will benefit Friends of the Children, a national nonprofit organization, Nike said. The Jordan jersey will be available in three versions. Top of the line, retailing for $400, is an Authentic away Bulls No. 23 top identical to what Jordan wore on June 14, 1998, when he nailed the jumper with 5.2 seconds in the visiting Bulls’ victory over the Jazz for his sixth championship. There also will be $120 home and away Swingman replica Bulls jerseys.