The Boston Celtics tied for the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Milwaukee Bucks thanks to a major improvement.
Two days after the disappointing score of 89:101, the NBA champion scored 109:86 against the defending champion. Unlike the first game in the best of seven series, Celtics fans saw consistently compelling performance. The hosts were never late and only used seven basketball players until a few minutes before the end. National player Daniel Theis was on the bench until the end.
The Celtics’ top player was Jaylen Brown, with 30 points. In the first quarter alone he had 17 points. “You can’t be defined by a game,” Brown said on American TV, “We’ve been holding out all year. The question is simply how you react.” Jason Tatum scored 29 points, Grant Williams 21, and Giannis Antetokounmpo was the most successful with the Bucks with 28 points, but was not satisfied with a tally of only 11 shots in 27 attempts.
Unusually, both teams now have three full days to recover before game three on Saturday in Milwaukee. Four wins are necessary to advance to the conference finals.
(dpa)