The Boston Celtics dominated the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2, winning by a final score of 109-86. The C’s led wire to wire, leading by as many as 26, and even went into the half with a 25-point advantage.
After a disappointing Game 1, Boston bounced back in a big way, upping the intensity on both ends of the floor. They hit a team playoff-record 20 of their 43 3-point attempts, generating open looks on the perimeter off of great ball movement.
On defense, the Celtics had one of their best performances of the year, holding the Bucks to 86 points on 46.6 percent shooting from the floor and 16.7 percent shooting from deep. Milwaukee got practically no open looks all night long, with the C’s length at every position bothering the defending champs.
This game was never in doubt, with the Celtics building upon their lead in the first half, only having to hold onto it down the stretch. Let’s look at 3 key takeaways from this game that will apply to the rest of the series.
Boston Celtics takeaway No. 1) Individual defense on Giannis Antetokounmpo
Giannis Antetokounmpo, the 2x league MVP, is one of the most difficult players to guard in all of basketball. His combination of speed, strength, length, and overall athleticism makes it virtually impossible to shut him down.
On Tuesday night, a combination of Grant Williams and Al Horford did about as well as anyone’s going to do on the Greek freak.
Antetokounmpo ended up with 28 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists, but shot just 11-of-27 from the floor, and only scored five points on 12 shots in the first half.
Milwaukee was looking to get Giannis downhill from the top of the key, often in isolation against Grant or Horford. In Game 1, this would have helped off the corner or nail, leaving shooters open on the perimeter.
Coach Ime Udoka made the adjustment to play Giannis straight up with capable defenders guarding him, allowing the Celtics’ big men to shine.
Both Williams and Horford are strong and quick enough to guard Giannis effectively, not being pushed aside by his freakish athleticism. Antetokoumpo’s going to get his points, but had one of the most uncomfortable games of his career, being stood up in the paint on multiple occasions.
The referees probably could have called one or two more charges on the former MVP, but the calls were shaky all night. Look for Milwaukee to force more switches in Game 3, as Antetokoumpo was much more successful against other matchups Boston threw at him.
Nevertheless, defense like this from Grant Williams is remarkable considering where he was as a player just a year ago.