Celtics Take 3-2 Series Lead over Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks with Game 5 Win
The Boston Celtics got Marcus Smart back Tuesday night, although they were still without Gordon Hayward, Kyrie Irving and Daniel Theis.
It didn't matter.
Al Horford had a double-double and Terry Rozier added 16 points, as the Celtics held on for a 92-87 win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Tuesday's Game 5 matchup. Boston has a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series heading into Game 6 in Milwaukee.
Horford finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds in what became an ugly grind-it-out affair. The Celtics shot 42.0 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 17 times, overcoming their own shaky performance thanks to an even worse one from Milwaukee.
The Bucks shot an ugly 36.8 percent overall, including just 9-of-33 from beyond the arc. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a series-low 16 points, and while he added 10 rebounds and nine assists, he disappeared for stretches as a scorer. He was fourth on the Bucks with just 10 shot attempts in 41 minutes—his lowest shot total in a game he played 20-plus minutes since a Jan. 8 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
Khris Middleton scored a game-high 23 points and was the Bucks' go-to player down the stretch. He hit two threes with under 30 seconds remaining to keep them within striking distance, but the Bucks never got a chance to tie the game. Eric Bledsoe's shot with 19 seconds remaining brought the game to 87-84, but Rozier hit a pair of free throws on Boston's subsequent possession.
Jabari Parker (17 points), Bledsoe (16 points) and Shabazz Muhammad (11 points) were also in double figures.
Milwaukee's biggest issue was its offensive collapse in the first half. The Bucks shot 34.9 percent en route to a paltry 37 points heading into halftime. Their offense picked up a bit after the break, but not enough to dig them out of the hole they created.
Jaylen Brown (14 points) and Marcus Morris (10 points) were also in double figures for the Celtics. Every Celtics player who played had at least four points.
Smart, in his return from a thumb injury that cost him more than a month of action, had nine points, five rebounds and four assists. He missed five of his seven shots and was noticeably rusty on offense, but he was back to his tenacious self defensively.
The Celtics also won despite a similar 2-of-7 effort from Jayson Tatum.
The teams reconvene for Game 6 on Thursday.
