Milwaukee Bucks edge Boston Celtics in overtime, extend win streak to eleven
JRUE Holiday made eight of his 12 3-point attempts and scored a game-high 40 points as the host Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to 11 games with a 131-125 overtime victory against a makeshift Boston Celtics lineup on Tuesday.
The Bucks took the lead for good when Mr. Holiday made a 3-pointer for a 127-125 edge with 25 seconds left in the extra session. Following a Boston turnover, Giannis Antetokounmpo made two free throws with 3.9 seconds left to seal the win, and he capped the scoring with a dunk.
Mr. Antetokounmpo finished with 36 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists for the Bucks, whose longest winning streak was 20 games, set during the 1970-71 season.
The Celtics played without four starters: Jayson Tatum (illness), Jaylen Brown (facial fracture), Marcus Smart (ankle) and Al Horford (knee). Boston cobbled together a starting lineup that featured Derrick White, Sam Hauser, Mike Muscala, Grant Williams and Blake Griffin.
The Boston Celtics led 107-103 with 6:05 to play in regulation, but Milwaukee rattled off the next 10 points to go up by six with 3:51 left.
Boston trailed 116-113 following two Holiday free throws with 7.4 seconds remaining, but Mr. Hauser sank a 3-pointer that tied the game with three seconds on the clock. The contest went to overtime after Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton missed a jump shot at the buzzer.
Mr. White led the Celtics with 27 points and 12 assists. Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench to score 26, and Muscala finished with 18. Muscala was playing in his third game with Boston since being acquired in a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Bucks finished the game with a 27-10 edge in points off turnovers.
Boston led 35-27 after one quarter but trailed 64-63 at halftime. The Celtics had a 95-90 advantage after three quarters.
The result ended Boston’s four-game winning streak.
Mr. Tatum scored 41 points in the only other game between the teams this season, a 139-118 Boston home victory on Dec. 25. — Reuters
