NBA Playoffs 2018: Boston Celtics vs. Milwaukee Bucks Game 2 live stream: Watch online
By Jason Patt
The Boston Celtics won Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks in thrilling overtime fashion. The Bucks will try to even up the series on Tuesday night.
Thanks to a litany of injuries, the Boston Celtics are vulnerable and one of the teams primed to be upset in the opening round of the playoffs. But as they have all season, the short-handed Celtics found a way to get the job done in Game 1 of their series against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Boston needed an extra period after Khris Middleton answered Terry Rozier’s dagger 3-pointer in the final moments of regulation, but ultimately the result was a 113-107 victory for the home team.
Rozier has come on strong in the absence of Kyrie Irving, and the young Celtics point guard hit big shot after big shot en route to 23 points. He was one of three Celtics young guns to show out in Game 1. Jayson Tatum became the youngest player ever to record a double-double in his playoff debut (19 points and 10 rebounds), while second-year man Jaylen Brown poured in 20 points of his own.
The real star for Boston, though, was Al Horford. The Celtics big man stuffed the stat sheet with 24 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals. He attempted a career-high 14 free throws and made 13 of them. His two-way impact has been huge for Boston all season, and it will need to continue for a deep playoff run to happen.
The Bucks got monster performances from both Middleton and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Middleton had 31 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and Milwaukee outscored Boston by 11 points in his 47 minutes despite the six-point loss. Antetokounmpo had 35 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals before fouling out late in overtime.
While Milwaukee nearly pulled off the road win, its offense will need to clean things up in Game 2. The Bucks turned the ball over 20 times, with Eric Bledsoe committing five of those turnovers as part of a nightmare game.
Date: Tuesday, April 17
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Location: Boston, Massachusetts
Venue: TD Garden
TV Info: TNT, NBC Sports Boston, FOX Sports Wisconsin
Live Stream: Watch live on FuboTV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial. Qualified subscribers can also watch on TNT Overtime.
Next: All live stream info in one place
Despite playing a sloppy Game 1, the Bucks showed they can hang with these Celtics and could steal home-court advantage with a strong Game 2. Watch for Joe Prunty to use more lineups with Giannis at the 5 to give Milwaukee more spacing and versatility.