Tatum’s 46 points trump giannis’ 44 in celts’ win
Jayson Tatum scored 46 points to outduel Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the visiting Celtics beat the defending champion Bucks 108-95 on Friday to force a seventh game in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Antetokounmpo finished with 44 points, 20 rebounds and six assists in a losing effort. His 20 rebounds were one off his career high.
The third consecutive victory for the road team in the series sets up a winner-take-all game Sunday in Boston. The victor heads to Miami to begin a series against the Heat in the conference final Tuesday.
The Celtics showed their grit by bouncing back after blowing a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter of a 110-107 home loss Wednesday to the Bucks in Game 5. The Bucks tried to rally again after trailing by 14 points early in the fourth, but Tatum and the Celtics fought them off this time.
Jaylen Brown added 22 points and Marcus Smart 21 for the Celtics, who capitalized on their superiority from three-point range. The Celtics were 17-for-43 and the Bucks 7-for-27 from behind the arc.
The Bucks continued to be without forward Khris Middleton, who missed his ninth consecutive playoff game with a sprained ligament in his left knee suffered in Game 2 of the first-round series against the Bulls.
rivers to return as 76ers’ coach
President of basketball operations Daryl Morey said 76ers coach Doc Rivers will return for a third season with the franchise in 2022-23.
‘‘I just think he’s a great coach,’’ Morey said during exit interviews after the 76ers were eliminated Thursday by the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals. ‘‘I love working with him. I feel like I’m learning from him.
I think [general manager] Elton [Brand] and I and him make a great team, and we’re gonna see where this journey takes us.’’
Rivers is 100-54 in the regular season and 13-11 in the playoffs in the playoffs in his first two seasons with the 76ers.
sixers’ green has two torn ligaments
Forward Danny Green suffered torn anterior cruciate and lateral collateral ligaments in his left knee when teammate Joel Embiid crashed into him in the first quarter of the 76ers’ season-ending loss to the Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference finals Thursday in Philadelphia.