Round 2 down to wire

Bucks, Celtics clash today in deciding game

BOSTON — While the city of Milwaukee works through the aftermath of separate downtown shootings following Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Bucks and Celtics, the series resumes today in Boston for an emotional Game 7.

The Celtics will be on their home court for the series finale, but the visiting Bucks will not be deterred. The visiting team has prevailed in four of the first six games of the 3-3 series, with the Bucks winning Games 1 and 5 in Boston.

The defending-champion Bucks have never trailed in the series, winning each time the best-of-seven matchup was tied, before losing every time in the meeting immediately after having taken a onegame advantage.

The last time the teams met in Boston, it took a Bobby Portis putback off a Giannis Antetokounmpo missed free throw and a Jrue Holiday blocked shot to deliver the thirdseeded Bucks a 110-107 victory in Game 5. Antetokounmpo had 40 points in the win.

The Milwaukee star poured in 44 points with 20 rebounds in a potential series-clincher on Friday, but was upstaged by Jayson Tatum's 46 points and the Celtics' more productive supporting cast, which included Jaylen Brown's 22 points and Marcus Smart's 21, in a 108-95 Boston road win.

Afterward, chaos unfolded in the streets near the arena in the downtown bar district. As of Saturday afternoon, 21 people were reported injured in three shootings near the Bucks' outdoor viewing party that drew more than 11,000 spectators Friday night. There were another 17,681 fans inside the arena.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported the victims ranged in age from 15 to 47. All were expected to survive.

On Saturday, the Bucks announced they had cancelled plans to hold a watch party for the final game.

As the series moves into the brightest of lights today and the focus diverts to basketball, at least for the late afternoon, all eyes will be on the Bucks' Antetokounmpo and the Celtics' Tatum.

“That's why he gets paid the big bucks,” Smart said of Tatum, who was 7-of-15 on 3-pointers to account for nearly half his points. “That's it, right there, for moments like that. I was telling him the whole game, `Just be you, man,' and he was.”

The keys to success are now well established.

The Bucks have shot 32.3 per cent on 3-pointers in their wins, but just 25.7 per cent in their losses. Holiday has defined the disparity, going 10-of-22 from deep in the wins, 5-of-22 in the losses.

“We have to find a way to get up more 3s and make more 3s,” Holiday said.