Tied up: Giannis’ tipin lifts Bucks over Celtics in Game 4
Warriors can’t finish off Spurs
MILWAUKEE » After losing a 20-point lead to the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks were determined not to lose another playoff game.
Leave it to All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to come up with a big play in the final seconds on Sunday.
Antetokounmpo scored 27 points, including tipping in the go-ahead basket with 5 seconds left, and the Bucks held on for a 104-102 win to tie their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Boston’s Marcus Morris missed a 14-footer at the buzzer with Khris Middleton’s hand in his face to seal a nail-biting win for the Bucks.
Seconds earlier, the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo jumped and reached up with his left arm around Boston’s Jayson Tatum to put back Malcolm Brogdon’s missed layup for the gamewinner.
“It’s a heck of play,” coach Joe Prunty said.
Game 5 is Tuesday night in Boston.
Antetokounmpo added seven rebounds and five assists, while Middleton scored 23 points. The Bucks’ two best players were clutch in the closing seconds of a tense victory, another sign of maturity for the one of the league’s up-and-coming teams.
“One of the most important things that we can carry from this game moving forward is that we stayed disciplined and we trusted one another,” Antetokounmpo said.
It could just as easily have fallen apart for Milwaukee after losing a 20-point lead with 7:37 left in the third quarter.
Jaylen Brown had 34 points for the Celtics, while Tatum added 21. Tatum’s 18-footer with 52 seconds left gave the Celtics a brief 100-99 lead.
He just couldn’t hold off Antetokounmpo on the other end for the decisive tip-in.
The disappointing end for the Celtics overshadowed their spirited rally from a 65-45 deficit. Play got chippy and the Celtics limited the Bucks’ transition game.
They came up one basket short at the end.
Antetokounmpo “made a great tip-in and he was battling for the ball. That’s what great players do,” coach Brad Stevens said.
Both teams traded clutch buckets down the stretch.
After Tatum’s long jumper, Brogdon hit a transition 3 from the corner for a 102-100 lead with 33 seconds left. Al Horford followed with two foul shots to tie the game at 102 with 29 seconds remaining.
They couldn’t send the game into overtime. Morris bent over in frustration near the Boston bench after his fadeaway hit the rim.
“We got the look we wanted ... It’s a shot that (Morris) can make 10 out of 10 times,” Brown said. “It didn’t go in tonight. So Game 5, keep moving forward.” SPURS 103, WARRIORS 90 » Manu Ginobili scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter of what could have been his final home game with the Spurs, and San Antonio beat the Golden State Warriors 103-90 on Sunday to avoid a series sweep as coach Gregg Popovich remained out following the death of his wife.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Spurs, but they were willed to the finish by the 40-year-old Ginobili, who has said he will decide in the offseason if he will return for a 17th season.
Kevin Durant had 34 points and 13 rebounds for the Warriors, who can wrap up the series in Game 5 at home Tuesday.
Popovich missed his second straight game after his wife, Erin, passed away Wednesday following a prolonged illness. Lead assistant Ettore Messina led the Spurs again, but to a much different showing than in Game 3.
Golden State outscored San Antonio 29-21 in the third quarter and went on a 13-5 run beginning two minutes into the fourth quarter to pull within 88-86 with 6 minutes remaining.
Aldridge banked in a 3-pointer with 4:22 remaining to stop the Warriors’ run and Ginobili took over with a pair of 3-pointers in the final minutes.
San Antonio opened with the same energy it had to start Game 3, but its shots fell this time. The Spurs extended their lead to as many as 17 points in the first half while holding an edge in almost every statistical category.
San Antonio shot 53 percent on 3-pointers after shooting just 26 percent in the opening three games. The Spurs were 15 for 28 on 3-pointers on Sunday while the Warriors were 7 for 28.
Aside from Durant, only Klay Thompson (12) and Shaun Livingston (10) scored in double figures for the Warriors.
Rudy Gay scored 14 points for San Antonio, Dejounte Murray had 12 and Kyle Anderson added 10.