Basketball: Bucks edge Celtics in OT, extend winning streak to 11

MILWAUKEE – Jrue Holiday does not care much about scoring, the Milwaukee Bucks point guard is more affected by how his turnovers can lead to opposition points.

It is probably a mindset of not letting himself make costly mistakes, but that is exactly how he assesses every National Basketball Association game he plays in.

On Tuesday night, he produced a scintillating 40-point performance as the Bucks snatched a 131-125 overtime victory against the Boston Celtics in a pulsating clash between the Eastern Conference heavyweights.

Holiday’s virtuoso display included seven points in overtime – including a crucial three-pointer to give Milwaukee the lead – as the Bucks

stretched their unbeaten streak to 11 games.

The 32-year-old two-time All-Star also conjured the moment of the game in the third quarter, launching a remarkable 41-foot bucket to get Milwaukee within five points after Boston had led by 14 just minutes earlier.

It was one of eight three-pointers nailed by Holiday, who was given heavy scoring support from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who finished with 36 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists.

“I don’t really, I guess, care for how I’m playing as long as we’re winning,” Holiday said afterwards.

“As long as we get the win, I’m okay.

“The only stat I look at is turnovers. That’s kind of how I determine if I had a good or bad game.

“Tonight, what did I have, five turnovers? To me, I’m like – that hurts my soul.

“For me, it doesn’t matter if I score. I want to make plays on defence when I’m on the court.”

The Bucks improved to 40-17 with the win and are now just half a game behind Eastern Conference leaders Boston, who fell to 41-17 following the loss.

The Celtics, however, will take heart from a gutsy performance from what amounted to a second-string starting line-up.

Boston went into the game missing several key players including Marcus Smart, Al Horford, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

Yet, for long periods, the depleted Celtics threatened to end the Bucks’ winning streak in front of their home crowd at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum.

Milwaukee reached half-time with a slender one-point advantage, leading 64-63.

But an inspired Boston performance in the third quarter saw the Celtics go 14 points clear before Milwaukee engineered a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to five points.

Boston forced overtime when Sam Hauser sank a 29-footer to tie the game at 116-116 with three seconds remaining.

The Celtics took charge early in overtime with Derrick White’s three-pointer putting them five points clear.

But another Bucks rally ended with Holiday’s go-ahead three-pointer with 25.2 seconds remaining, before Antetokounmpo reeled off four unanswered points to close out the win.

White led Boston’s scorers with 27 points while Malcolm Brogdon finished with 26 off the bench.

All five Boston starters finished in double figures, with Mike Muscala chipping in with 18 and Blake Griffin and Hauser adding 15 apiece.

“On both ends of the court, he was phenomenal,” Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said of Holiday.

“I think his ability to create some turnovers and create pressure helped flip it. We went down and he made a few big-time plays that just are very Jrue-like. Special performance by him.”

Elsewhere, 33 points from Kawhi Leonard sparked the Los Angeles Clippers to a 134-124 win over reigning champions Golden State Warriors.

Leonard’s points tally included seven-of-nine from three-point range. Norman Powell added 24 from the bench and Paul George had 20.

The Warriors’ scoring was led by Jordan Poole with 28 points.

In Portland, Damian Lillard came within a whisker of another 40-point game but it was not enough to stop the Trail Blazers suffering a comprehensive 126-101 loss to the Washington Wizards.

Lillard finished with 39 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. The Wizards proved too strong, however, with Kyle Kuzma (33) and Kristaps Porzingis (28) combining for 61 points.

In Phoenix, the Suns warmed up for the imminent arrival of new signing Kevin Durant with a 120-109 win over the Sacramento Kings.

Devin Booker led the Phoenix scoring with 32 points while Deandre Ayton added 29 points. AFP