Bucks at Celtics
The home team won the first six games of the first-round series between Milwaukee and Boston and Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo is out to change that pattern in Saturday's Game 7. The "Greek Freak" can add to his reputation if he can steer Milwaukee past the Celtics in Boston and into the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Antetokounmpo recorded 31 points and 14 rebounds as the Bucks forced a Game 7 with Thursday's 97-86 victory, and the seventh-seeded Bucks clearly know what to expect in their fourth game in Boston in the series. "It's going to be crazy. It's do or die at this point," Bucks forward Khris Middleton told reporters. "The crowd in Boston is rowdy, just like they are (in Milwaukee). It's going to be a great game. There are no secrets between teams. It comes down to who has more will." The second-seeded Celtics weren't supposed to receive such a tussle from the Bucks and are unexpectedly in need of a win to keep their season alive. "The result is our guys get to experience a Game 7, which, again, we didn't want," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters. "Game 7 in TD Garden is what you play for. It should be what you're excited most about. What you worked for all summer, what you worked for all year. It's a blast."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, FS Wisconsin (Milwaukee), NBCS Boston
ABOUT THE BUCKS: Antetokounmpo scored 30 or more points on three occasions in the series but his aggressiveness was back at a star level on Thursday after he took just 10 shots in a Game 5 loss in Boston. "I thought he played great," Bucks interim head coach Joe Prunty told reporters of Antetokounmpo. "I don't think he forced anything. I think he took opportunities that were there for him. He knows the spots to get to, but we also have to give him spacing around him to make sure we are in the right spots so that he has room to operate. ... Overall, Giannis played an outstanding game." The play of Antetokounmpo (26.3 points, 9.7 rebounds) and Middleton (23.5 average) has been consistently good but the duo needs someone from the trio of guard Eric Bledsoe (12 points per game), forward Jabari Parker (10.2) and guard Malcolm Brogdon (9.8) to step up on Saturday.
ABOUT THE CELTICS: The failure to close out the series in Milwaukee didn't faze most of the Boston players as they return to a venue in which they have won three times during the playoff matchup. "This is where home-court advantage comes up, where we've been playing the right way all season," second-year shooting guard Jaylen Brown told reporters. "This is where playing the right basketball all year long is going to come to a benefit. Game 7, a lot of people haven't experienced it on this team. It's crazy, and I expect nothing short of a tremendous performance from everybody." Brown (20.5) is one of five Celtics averaging in double digits in the series with center Al Horford (16.8 points, 8.8 rebounds), guard Terry Rozier (16.2), small forward Jayson Tatum (14.7) and power forward Marcus Morris (13.8) being the others.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Boston won its three previous home games in the series by an average of 8.3 points.
2. Morris (thigh) was injured in Game 6 and insists he is fine for the series finale.
3. Milwaukee C John Henson (back) will likely miss his fifth straight game.