Celtics make 22 3s, top Bucks in Game 7
Celtics 109, Bucks 81: Grant Williams scored a career-high 27 points and hit seven 3-pointers, Jayson Tatum added 23 and the host Boston Celtics set a Game 7 record with 22 3-pointers to eliminate the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Boston will face top-seeded Miami beginning Tuesday in a rematch of the 2020 East finals. The Heat beat the Celtics in six games in that series at Walt Disney World.
The Celtics trailed early but outscored the Bucks 61- 38 in the second half to cruise to the victory. Boston used a whopping 54-point advantage from behind the arc to improve to 25-9 in decisive seventh games.
The Bucks are now 3-9. They went 4 for 33 (12.1%) from the 3-point line. That’s the second-worst 3-point percentage in a playoff game ever (minimum 30 attempts).
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists. But he was just 3 of 11 in the paint in the second half, including 1 for 6 the fourth quarter. Jrue Holiday added 21 points and eight assists. Brook Lopez finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Williams finished 7 for 18 behind the arc as the Celtics finished the comeback after dropping Game 5 at home to fall into a 3-2 hole. Boston started the second half on an 11-4 run to open a 5947 lead. It was 63-53 when Tatum went to the bench after being whistled for his fourth foul. But the Celtics rallied without him, outscoring the Bucks 16-11 the rest of the quarter to take a 79-64 lead to the fourth.
Mavericks 123, Suns 90: Luka Doncic scored 35 points, Spencer Dinwiddie added 30 and the Dallas Mavericks stunned the top-seeded Phoenix Suns with a 123-90 Game 7 blowout Sunday night, advancing to the Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011. Dallas broke through on the road after the home team won the first six games of the series, dominating in a hostile environment from start to finish. Conversely, it was an embarrassing no-show for the playoff-tested Suns — who advanced to the NBA Finals last season with a very similar roster.
The fourth-seeded Mavericks travel to face Golden State in Game 1 on Wednesday. Doncic earned the Mavs an early lead, making his first three shots, including two 3-pointers. That helped Dallas push to a 27-17 advantage in the first quarter and a whopping 5727 cushion at the halftime break.
Doncic and Dinwiddie, who came off the bench, combined to pour in 48 of the Mavericks’ 57 points.
Game 7 drama? Not in the desert. Simply put, the Suns looked overwhelmed by the pressure of a Game 7. They missed shots they usually make, made bad passes they usually don’t make and looked nothing like the team that won an Nba-best 64 games during the regular season.