The Sun (Lowell)

Bucks beat Celtics, 104-91

- By Steve Megargee The Associated Press

MILWAUKEE >> Giannis Antetokoun­mpo left late in the third quarter with a calf injury, but the Milwaukee Bucks hung on to beat the Boston Celtics 104-91 on Tuesday night in a game that featured an NBA record-low total of two free-throw attempts.

Milwaukee snapped a fourgame skid as Patrick Beverley had 20 points and 10 rebounds after the Bucks shook up their lineup by having the veteran guard start ahead of Malik Beasley, who came off the bench for the first time all season.

Antetokoun­mpo was heading up the court late in the third quarter after a Celtics basket when he grabbed his left calf and took a seat. The two-time MVP was helped off the floor, and cameras showed him heading to the locker room under his own power.

The Bucks said Antetokoun­mpo had a left soleus strain. The soleus is a muscle in the calf.

Antetokoun­mpo had 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and he also attempted the game’s only free throws. He went 1 of 2 from the line in the first quarter.

The Celtics became the first team in NBA history to go an entire game without attempting a free throw. The previous record for fewest combined attempts in a game was 11.

Milwaukee withstood Antetokoun­mpo’s injury thanks to a blazing start that enabled the Bucks to take a 24-point lead in the first half.

Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis scored 15 points apiece, and Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton added 12 apiece. Portis also had 10 rebounds.

The Celtics, who already have clinched the NBA’S best regular-season record and No. 1 overall playoff seed, were playing without Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. Horford was unavailabl­e due to a sprained left big toe, and the Celtics are managing Porzingis’ workload after he missed five games last month with a sprained right hamstring.

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