Boston Celtics defeat Milwaukee Bucks despite big night for ‘child’ Giannis Antetokounmpo
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo being guarded by Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
LOS ANGELES – Jayson Tatum delivered 31 points and 12 rebounds to spark reigning National Basketball Association (NBA) champions the Boston Celtics to a 113-107 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov 10, while teammate Jaylen Brown delivered a sharp rebuke to Giannis Antetokounmpo, calling him a “child”.
The Celtics improved to 9-2, two games behind the unbeaten Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference, while the hosts slid to 2-8.
Payton Pritchard scored 18 points off the Boston bench, while Derrick White and former Buck Jrue Holiday each scored 15 points and Brown added 14 for the Celtics.
“Team effort. It’s not easy doing it by yourself. We did it collectively,” Holiday said.
Milwaukee’s Greek star Antetokounmpo, who tallied 43 points and 13 rebounds at Fiserv Forum, elbowed Brown to the floor at one point, then offered a hand to help him up, only to pull it away when Brown reached for it.
“Giannis is a child. I’m just focused on helping my team get a win,” Brown said later.
Told about Brown’s comments, Antetokounmpo responded, telling ESPN: “We always joke around with the flow of the game. It’s something that I do to my kids, I play around. This is who I am. I play the game with fun, joy.”
The 29-year-old added of 2024 Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) Brown: “I think he’s an incredible player. I’m just going to continue to be me and, at the end of the day, if I’m called a child, so be it.
“I just try to go out there and have fun. But again, (he is a) great player, great competitor. If I have another opportunity, I’ll do it again.”
Victory eased the memory of two lopsided Boston losses in Milwaukee last season.
“It’s nice. We got blown out twice last year, so getting this win here with my family in the building is awesome,” Holiday said.
The Bucks led 69-58 at half-time but the Celtics grabbed an 87-84 edge entering the fourth quarter and closed with a 9-5 run to seal the triumph, with Tatum scoring seven in the crucial stretch.
“We just picked up the intensity. We came out, hit shots, not getting too ahead of ourselves and getting back to Celtics basketball,” Holiday said of the third-quarter rally.
Stephen Curry scored 36 points, hitting seven-of-13 three-pointers, to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 127-116 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in a showdown of Western Conference contenders that left both clubs at 8-2.
The Thunder, led by 24 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, lost star big man Chet Holmgren in the first quarter with a right hip injury after a fall at Paycom Centre.
Over at Target Centre, Tyler Herro scored 26 points and reserve Nikola Jovic made a game-winning three-point play with 7.1 seconds remaining to give the Miami Heat a 95-94 victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Jaden McDaniels tipped in a three-point miss by Mike Conley with nine seconds remaining to give the Timberwolves a 94-92 lead, but Jovic answered with a lay-up and free throw for the deciding points.
Conley missed a final three-point shot to seal Miami’s triumph, which snapped a three-game Heat losing skid and three-game Timberwolves winning streak.
In another late thriller, Michael Porter Jr’s basket with 6.1 seconds remaining gave the Denver Nuggets a 122-120 home victory over the Dallas Mavericks.
Three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic had a triple-double with 37 points, 18 rebounds and 15 assists to lead Denver, while Kyrie Irving scored a game-high 43 points for the Mavericks at Ball Arena.
Also producing a triple-double was LeBron James, who recorded 19 points, 10 rebounds and 16 assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 123-103 win over the Toronto Raptors at Crypto.com Arena.
With forward Kevin Durant out due to a left calf strain, Western Conference leaders the Phoenix Suns fell to 8-2 with a 127-118 overtime home loss to the Sacramento Kings, in the process ending the Suns’ seven-game winning streak.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers outlasted the visiting Charlotte Hornets for a 107-105 overtime victory, improving to 2-7 for the season. AFP
