Bucks erase 4th-quarter deficit, stun Celtics; Grizzlies stave off elimination

Bobby Portis turned a missed Giannis Antetokounmpo free-throw into a go-ahead hoop, Jrue Holiday made two critical defensive plays in the final 8.1 seconds and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks rallied past the Boston Celtics 110-107 on Wednesday night for a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series.

Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 40 points, including a three-pointer during Milwaukee’s late comeback, to put the Bucks one win away from their third trip to the Eastern Conference finals in the past four seasons.

Game 6 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Friday night at Milwaukee.

Portis’s game-winning basket came after Antetokounmpo got Milwaukee within 107-106 by making the first of two free throws with 14.2 seconds left, then missed the second.

Two Celtics fought over the rebound in a crowd, and when the ball deflected to Portis under the hoop, he converted a layup that gave the Bucks the lead for good.

Marcus Smart attempted to counter immediately for the Celtics, but Holiday blocked his driving attempt with 8.1 seconds left and threw the ball off Smart and out of bounds, giving the Bucks possession with 6.6 seconds to go.

The Celtics were then forced to foul Pat Connaughton, and his two free throws with 5.9 seconds left completed the scoring.

Without a timeout available, the Celtics had to try to rush the ball up the court for a potential game-tying three-pointer, but Holiday stripped Smart near midcourt and ran out the clock on Milwaukee’s second win at Boston in the series.

Boston’s Jaylen Brown scored 16 of his 26 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics appeared to take control of the game. The hosts were up by nine points after three periods and by as many as 14 early in the fourth.

The Bucks chipped away, eventually drawing even at 105-all with 42.4 seconds remaining after Antetokounmpo and Holiday buried three-pointers.

Jayson Tatum capped a team-high, 34-point game by sinking two free throws with 31.1 seconds left to put Boston back up by two, setting up the wild finishing sequence.

Antetokounmpo completed a double-double with 11 rebounds, while Portis led all rebounders with 15 off the bench and contributed 14 points.

Holiday finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and a game-high eight assists, and Connaughton had 13 points for the Bucks, who outscored the Celtics 39-30 on 3-point attempts. Holiday had four of Milwaukee’s 13 treys.

Smart (15 points) and Daniel Theis (11) backed Tatum and Brown for the Celtics.

Grizzlies 134, Warrios 95

Desmond Bane, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Tyus Jones each scored 21 points and sank four three-pointers as host Memphis steamrolled Golden State in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals.

The Grizzlies had little trouble cutting Golden State’s series lead to 3-2 despite playing without star point guard Ja Morant for the second straight game. Morant has a bone bruise in his right knee and is doubtful to play again this postseason.

Steven Adams collected 13 rebounds, Jones compiled nine assists and Jackson grabbed eight boards for second-seeded Memphis, which led by as many as 55 points. The 39-point margin of victory is the Grizzlies’ largest in postseason play, topping a 12496 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier this postseason.

Klay Thompson scored 19 points, Jonathan Kuminga had 17 and Stephen Curry added 14 for the third-seeded Warriors. No Golden State player saw more than 26 minutes of action.

Golden State committed 22 turnovers while the Grizzlies had 10. Memphis made a franchise playoff record 18 three-pointers (out of 41 attempts).

The Grizzlies shot 47.5 percent overall. Dillon Brooks contributed 12 points.

Game 6 is Friday in San Francisco.

Jokic confirmed as MVP

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic was named NBA Most Valuable Player for the second consecutive season.

Jokic is the 13th player to win backto-back MVPs.

Jokic received 65 first-place votes and 875 points to outdistance Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (26 first-place votes, 706 points). Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (nine, 595) was third.

Jokic is in his native Serbia and learned he won the award after a ride on a horse. The 27-year-old was greeted by family and friends in celebratory fashion at a stable.

Jokic averaged 27.1 points, 13.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.47 steals in 74 games this season for the Nuggets. He led the NBA with 19 triple-doubles and became the first player in NBA history to record at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 500 assists in a season.

“I don’t know what else you can say about Nikola at this point,” Denver coach Michael Malone said. “He’s consistently improved his game, he’s consistently proven people wrong when they doubt him and he’s consistently the best player on the floor night in and night out. I’ve said it many times before, I’m extremely grateful to coach Nikola Jokic and just as grateful for the bond that we’ve built off the court in our seven years together.”

The others to win consecutive MVPs are Antetokounmpo, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Stephen Curry, Tim Duncan, LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Moses Malone, Steve Nash and Bill Russell.

Jokic typically downplays his success but he is well aware he is now running with great company after a second MVP award.

“Right now, I don’t think about it,” Jokic said on TNT. “But when I’m old, fat and grumpy, hopefully I’m going to remember and tell my kids that back in the day I was pretty good at playing basketball.

“Everybody knows I’m the same guy so hopefully I’m going to stay the same after this. Just to be in that company of Wilt and all the guys that made history in this league and this sport. That tells a lot and means a lot to have a legacy like that.”

Jokic, a four-time All-Star, wasn’t even a first-round selection at the outset of his career. The Nuggets got him in the second round (41st overall) in the 2014 draft.

That was the same draft in which Embiid went third overall to the 76ers. He led the NBA with a 30.6 scoring average this season and also averaged 11.7 points and 4.2 assists in 68 games.

Antetokounmpo averaged 29.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists in 67 games. He won his MVP awards for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (216 points) and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (146) rounded out the top five in the voting.

The balloting consisted of a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters.