Right place, right time: Antetokounmpo’s put-back basket ties series

Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scores two of his 27 points Sunday against the Boston Celtics. Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points to lead the Bucks to a 104-102 victory over the Celtics in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scores two of his 27 points Sunday against the Boston Celtics. Antetokounmpo finished with 27 points to lead the Bucks to a 104-102 victory over the Celtics in Milwaukee.

MILWAUKEE -- After losing a 20-point lead to the Boston Celtics, the Milwaukee Bucks were determined not to lose another playoff game.

Leave it to All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo to come up with a big play in the final seconds on Sunday.

Antetokounmpo scored 27 points, including tipping in the go-ahead basket with 5 seconds left, and the Bucks held on for a 104-102 victory to tie their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.

Boston's Marcus Morris missed a 14-footer at the buzzer with Khris Middleton's hand in his face to seal a nail-biter for the Bucks.

Seconds earlier, the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo jumped and reached up with his left arm around Boston's Jayson Tatum to put back Malcolm Brogdon's missed layup for the game-winner.

"It's a heck of play," Milwaukee Coach Joe Prunty said.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Boston.

Antetokounmpo added 7 rebounds and 5 assists, while Middleton scored 23 points. The Bucks' two best players were clutch in the closing seconds of a tense victory, another sign of maturity for the one of the league's up-and-coming teams.

"One of the most important things that we can carry from this game moving forward is that we stayed disciplined and we trusted one another," Antetokounmpo said.

It could just as easily have fallen apart for Milwaukee after losing a 20-point lead with 7:37 left in the third quarter.

Jaylen Brown had 34 points for the Celtics, while Tatum added 21. Tatum's 18-footer with 52 seconds left gave the Celtics a brief 100-99 lead.

He just couldn't hold off Antetokounmpo on the other end for the decisive tip-in.

The disappointing end for the Celtics overshadowed their spirited rally from a 65-45 deficit. Play got chippy and the Celtics limited the Bucks' transition game.

They came up one basket short at the end.

Antetokounmpo "made a great tip-in and he was battling for the ball. That's what great players do," Boston Coach Brad Stevens said.

Both teams traded clutch buckets down the stretch.

After Tatum's long jumper, Brogdon hit a transition three-pointer from the corner for a 102-100 lead with 33 seconds left. Al Horford followed with two foul shots to tie the game at 102-102 with 29 seconds remaining.

They couldn't send the game into overtime. Morris bent over in frustration near the Boston bench after his fadeaway hit the rim.

"We got the look we wanted ... It's a shot that [Morris] can make 10 out of 10 times," Brown said. "It didn't go in tonight. So Game 5, keep moving forward."

Stevens kept his starting five intact after the team never recovered from a disastrous first quarter in Game 3. Stevens said he would likely only make a switch for matchup purposes. Boston ended with a 43-36 edge on the boards.

Milwaukee's starting center John Henson missed a second consecutive game with a sore back. The Bucks went with the same starting five as Game 3, with Zeller replacing Henson and Brogdon starting for Tony Snell.

Jabari Parker led a vigorous effort off the bench with 16 points and seven rebounds. The Bucks' reinvigorated bench outscored the Celtics' reserves 31-15. Parker, in particular, gave the team a lift in the first half with perhaps his best defensive play of the year after forcing turnovers on two consecutive Boston possessions at one point.

WIZARDS 106, RAPTORS 98

WASHINGTON — John Wall took over down the stretch after Bradley Beal fouled out, having a hand in 10 of Washington’s last 14 points and finishing with 27 points and 14 assists as the No. 8 seed Wizards came back to beat the No. 1 Toronto Raptors and even their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at 2-2.

The game was tied at 92-92 with about five minutes left when Beal — who led Washington with 31 points — drew his sixth foul on a play in which he and De-Mar DeRozan collided while Toronto had the ball. Beal raced along the sideline, put his hands on his head, then returned to the Wizards’ bench area and threw a red towel before being restrained by teammates.

The Raptors went up by two, but Wall pulled the Wizards even with a layup that drew a goaltending call, then put the hosts in front to stay by feeding Markieff Morris for a layup off the glass. As the final seconds ticked away, Wall held up two fingers on each hand. Yep, it’s 2-2, and the home team has won every game so far.

Toronto will host Game 5 on Wednesday.

DeRozan started 0 for 6, before winding up with 35 points, 6 assists and 6 rebounds. Kyle Lowry scored 19 points for Toronto.

At a glance

(Best-of-7) SUNDAY’S GAMES

Milwaukee 104, Boston 102

Series tied 2-2

San Antonio 103, Golden State 90

Golden State leads series 3-1

Washington 106, Toronto 98

Series tied 2-2

Cleveland 104, Indiana 100

Series tied 2-2 TODAY’S GAMES All times Central

Houston at Minnesota, 7 p.m.

Houston leads series 2-1

Oklahoma City at Utah, 9:30 p.m.

Utah leads series 2-1

Sports on 04/23/2018

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