Giannis Antetokounmpo finally looked tired.
After putting his head down early in Game 6 and shooting on nine of Milwaukee's first 16 possessions to score 15 points in less than seven minutes to open the game, Antetokounmpo sputtered into the second quarter. He scored four points, not shooting early, then fell to the ground chasing a loose ball and drawing a delay of game laid out, before picking up his third foul charging into Derrick White. He had similarly fallen in the back court late in Game 4, needing to sub out for 50 seconds after Boston completed its comeback win.
Antetokounmpo inevitably caught a second wind in the fourth quarter on Friday, dunking over Payton Pritchard, burying a pair of free throws and a three to complete a 10-point turnaround down by 14 points and pushing the Celtics again during their 108-95 win to force a Game 7 on Sunday. The Bucks' star posted 44 points, 20 rebounds, six assists and blocked two shots on 14-for-30 shooting, continuing his seismic effort, but one requiring ample physicality, shot attempts and effort against a Boston defense keyed in on him. The Celtics have exploited Antetokounmpo's tendencies and shut out his teammates, forcing him to beat them one-on-one and rolling with the punches of his runs.
"Giannis has been great for them," Jaylen Brown told Boston Sports Journal on Friday. "Relentless in his approaching. He's gonna keep going, keep attacking. His conditioning is great, he doesn't seem like he gets as tired as others and he just keeps coming, and so we've just gotta keep coming with him. You've gotta be aggressive and keep doing our job and keep fighting, and eventually we should come out on top."
Shortly after halftime, Al Horford saw Antetokounmpo rotate past Grant Williams into his spin move. Between years of personal experience guarding him and studying his tendencies now, Boston's big man has routinely been in position to dislodge the ball from Giannis' hands when he exposes it. He holds the ball out as he tries to duck through the crowd the Celtics show him at the rim, and when he showed the ball, Horford whacked at it. Antetokounmpo recovered a threw up a miss over the rim going to his left.
The Celtics have held Antetokounmpo well below his normal efficiency, now 46.8% through six games after he finished the regular season 55.3% from the field and shot 56.9% last season. Ime Udoka and Boston's defense have thrown the kitchen sink at him, from single coverage with Williams and Horford standing their ground while their teammates stay home on Bucks shooters, to timely traps during the Celtics' Game 4 comeback win. Marcus Smart spent time guarding him, as did Jayson Tatum and Brown when the Boston wanted to downsize, Udoka challenging his wings to guard Antetokounmpo better than they did in the early games.
"It's tendencies," Udoka told BSJ at shootaround on Friday. "As we go through a series, we've dug into personnel and that's the focus, more so than any plays they're trying to run. It's who they're running things for and their tendencies. Al's obviously played against him quite a few times and has a good sense of that. I think as a team, we've done ok job denying him, keeping him off-balance and understanding when he's going into a scoring mode as opposed to baiting. I feel we can make more plays on him sometimes, but Al's done a great job of that for sure. His experience against him helps out for sure, digging in on what he does specifically, that's what we did from day one when we were preparing for Milwaukee is to look at certain guys, whether it's their moves going left, spinning back right, areas on the court they want to attack and specific moves he makes."
The way Horford, holding Antetokounmpo to 30-for-79 shooting (38%) through three games, guards Giannis reflects how he attacked Kevin Durant in round one. The Celtics and Horford attack, rather than wait, beating them to their spots and forecasting where the ball will be so they can swat it away. While he holds up on his own defensively, Horford's teammates have been able to limit Jrue Holiday to 35.3% shooting, Grayson Allen to 36.1%, Bobby Portis to 38.6% and Wes Matthews to 35.3%. Right now, aside from the occasional dump-off to Brook Lopez, heave from Holiday, or Pat Connaughton three, Giannis is on his own, unable to bait the Celtics into help and beating them with the pass like he did in Game 1.
Exhausting him is part of the plan. Since the Bucks lost Khris Middleton to a knee injury against the Bucks in round one, Antetokounmpo is doing nearly all of his work with the ball in his hands. Attempts to set up a pick-and-roll game with Antetokounmpo off the ball early in Game 6 with Allen sputtered. Holiday hasn't shown much pick-and-roll prowess running the point alongside him and transition opportunities have been the only way Giannis can run freely downhill without encountering a crowd. Milwaukee is scoring 84.4 points per 100 plays in the half court in this series, 10 points worse than the Celtics' offense and the worst of the eight teams in the playoffs, 5.1 points per 100 behind Golden State.
"Just knowing the person you're playing against," Grant Williams told BSJ. "The difference between when he's playing aggressive going downhill versus when he's kind of floating or turning to his handles or setting up his jumper, some simple things that he does that kind of gives those things away."
Williams thought the Celtics had worn down Antetokounmpo and Holiday effectively in Game 5 and Boston squandered an opportunity with their own late execution. They had grown stagnant, allowing Antetokounmpo's late three to tie the game, and his free throw miss bowling through Williams inside to lead to Portis' game-winning follow. The Celtics had held Antetokounmpo to 1-for-4 shooting in the first quarter before he broke free for 36 points over the final three quarters following offensive rebounds, Boston's three-point misses and turnovers.
The Celtics got back to their game plan two nights later, White showing a crowd in the lane and drawing deflections and a vital charge call before halftime. Boston nearly drew a fifth foul on Antetokounmpo to start the fourth quarter when Williams planted his feet against Giannis driving baseline. The Bucks won the challenge, part of a frustrating avalanche of foul calls that have frustrated the Celtics as Antetokounmpo embraces contact on nearly every possession.
Brown admitted frustration with the officiating earlier in the series and Tatum nearly cost the Celtics the game complaining after a missed layup while Matthews hit a three-pointer the other way. Tatum sunk his head when he got back in transition, knowing he had screwed up. White had just barely saved him with a take foul right before Matthews shot, scratching the basket and keeping Boston ahead by seven points.
Boston has done everything they'd needed to slow Antetokounmpo, run effective offense when they moved the ball and put themselves on their home court for a Game 7. They almost lost the game anyway, growing most stagnant when they tried to attack Giannis in isolation to stack up foul trouble on him. The toll of six games of charging downhill had already become apparent, and Boston could only beat themselves by handing Giannis extra possessions.
There's nothing left for these teams to learn about each other now, White said on Friday morning, so Sunday will come down to continuing to do what they've already discovered works against the two-time MVP, and not veering from that for too long. It appears to be enough to advance.
"Some of the foul trouble and some of the things that happened could be due to fatigue," Udoka told BSJ. "Similar to last series with Durant and Irving, we want to put him in actions and make him work on both ends of the court. The way he plays offensively, expends a lot of energy going one-on-one, whether it's in the post or in isolation. Not a lot of easy baskets for him, other than when he gets out in transition some. So we just want to be conscious to not let him off the hook on the other end, defensively, and at times put him in certain actions knowing he's a solid defender, obviously, but don't want to let him rest."
Here's what else happened in the NBA this week
Boston (tied 3-3 vs. Milwaukee): Found something by mixing Derrick White in with their starters in Robert Williams III's (knee) absence over the last three games, spreading the Bucks out with passing and allowing Jayson Tatum to go off for 12 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 before a 16-point closing effort in Game 6 to send the series to a decisive seventh game. White subbing in for Grant Williams midway through the fourth quarter sent Boston on an 18-12 run to close the game and that lineup has now outscored the Bucks by 16.4 points per 100 possessions. They'll host the decisive game of what's quickly become a classic series that could potentially decide the eventual champion on Sunday at 3:30.
Brooklyn: Sean Marks hosted an ominous offseason preview press conference, where he fielded questions about Kyrie Irving's future and sounded non-committal to the guard who averaged just over 30 games per season over his first three seasons with the Nets. Marks sat alongside Steve Nash, effectively affirming his future as head coach, while mentioning off-court distractions and lack of availability that undermined the team's season the way to a first-round sweep against the Celtics. Bruce Brown, LaMarcus Aldridge, Blake Griffin, Andre Drummond, Goran Dragic, Nic Claxton (restricted), David Duke Jr. (restricted), Patty Mills (player option) and Irving (player option) could all become free agents this summer. Irving, who streamed on Twitch midway through the week clapping back at critics, gave an interview deeming himself a martyr, committed to returning to Brooklyn after the season and referenced working collaboratively with the front office.
“We’re looking for guys that want to come in here and be part of something bigger than themselves, play selfless, play team basketball, and be available," Marks said. "That goes not only for Kyrie, but for everybody here.”
Charlotte: Former Lakers head coach Frank Vogel and former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson officially joined the running for the Hornets job, both boasting expertise defensively and offensively, respectively, that could give a young Charlotte team the structure it needs. Vogel brought Pacers and Lakers teams deep into the playoffs, winning the 2020 NBA championship, but struggled in Orlando and was fired by LA after disappointing 2021 and 2022 seasons. Atkinson has served on the Clippers and Warriors' staffs since departing the Nets in 2020.
Chicago: Zach LaVine will undergo surgery in the coming weeks to address lingering pain in his left knee, balancing his health alongside his impending free agency. The Bulls can and likely will offer him a five-year, $212-million contract, but he seems intent on exploring every option. Without Chicago's help facilitating a sign-and-trade, he could only land with five teams on a max contract outright in free agency. LaVine working on his knee with the team's medical staff is a positive sign that the team can run it back with Lonzo Ball, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Vucevic and LaVine, who led the team to one of the best starts in the NBA before a string of health issues emerged.
Dallas (tied 3-3 vs. Phoenix): Improbably headed for a Game 7 against the NBA's best team as Luka Doncic submitted the most important performance of his young career, pummeling Phoenix with 33 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and four steals in a 113-86 blowout. Doncic is now averaging 32.2 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 7.5 APG in the series on 45.7% shooting, bouncing back from being targeted on the defensive end as the Mavericks fell behind 2-0 in Phoenix. Heading there again doesn't bode well in a series dominated by home teams at a historic rate, +103. This season would be viewed as a success win or lose, though, with Davis Bertans emerging into this series, Spencer Dinwiddie proving an ideal fit next to Doncic, Doran Finney-Smith becoming a high-level wing now signed long-term and Jalen Brunson a microwave scorer with his own unrestricted free agency looming. Jason Kidd, after Dallas had lost two straight first rounds, has this franchise in a great place.
Denver: Nikola Jokic won his second consecutive MVP award with 65 first-place votes, edging out Joel Embiid (26) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (9) in a moderately tight race. Jokic posted historic 27.1 PPG, 13.8 RPG and 7.9 APG averages on 58.3% efficiency, topping his efforts from last season and carrying the Nuggets to 48 wins with Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray effectively missing the entire season. Michael Malone noted Jokic's exhaustion throughout the season, as he logged 74 games, but the star improved his defense and constantly integrated an unsteady supporting cast of Will Barton, Aaron Gordon, rookie Bones Hyland and Jeff Green. His exploits felt historic, and the most valuable marker on the award signifies why he won handily. No other NBA star had to carry more weight for their team. Jokic joins Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Steph Curry, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Moses Malone, Karrem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell as back-to-back MVP winners.
Golden State (won 4-2 vs. Memphis): Suffered a historic setback, losing 134-95 and trailing by as many 55 points to the Grizzlies without Ja Morant in Game 5 with the chance to put the series away. Steph Curry misstepped and declared the Warriors aimed to "whoop that trick" entering the road game, referencing the song played in FedEx Forum, but it turned on them in the blowout when the team's dancers and PA announcer blasted the song with Golden State far behind. Draymond Green, unfazed, started waving a towel and dancing during the timeout. The Warriors went on to seal the series in six games, averting a troubling matchup as Memphis lost its footing and Ja Morant early. This marks Golden State's first west finals appearance since Kevin Durant's departure.
Houston: The John Wall and Russell Westbrook swap offer reportedly stands so long as the Lakers sacrifice a first-round pick this offseason. The Lakers' urgency to move Westbrook at last season's trade deadline may now be dwarfed Houston's desire to close the Wall era entering the final season of his contract. It'd be intriguing to watch Westbrook, originally traded from the Thunder to the Rockets before being dealt for Wall to Washington in 2020, land on a young team and possibly take a smaller role. It's more likely the Rockets would waive him.
Indiana: They'll reportedly be among the suitors for Mavericks free agent Jalen Brunson as they look to move Malcolm Brogdon, according to Jake Fischer. The Pacers are over the cap by $32-million with Brogdon, Myles Turner and Buddy Hield on the roster, which they'll need to address given Dallas' unlikelihood of playing ball with sign-and-trade attempts to acquire Brunson.
Lakers: Rolling through interviews with Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and former Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts emerging as frontrunners for their head coaching job. One of their rumored hopeful targets in Doc Rivers isn't happening after Philadelphia retained him in the aftermath of their playoff exit. LA has also interviewed Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin and ESPN broadcaster Mark Jackson. Bucks assistant Charles Lee will also interview for the position, with Phil Jackson strangely in the picture reportedly advocating for Russell Westbrook to remain part and central to the picture.
Memphis (lost 2-4 vs. Golden State): Saw their season crumble with Ja Morant's bone bruise after a tie-up with Jordan Poole at half court. The Grizzlies bounced back with a historic Game 5 blowout win with their season on the line, before falling in Game 6 as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson took over. This series strangely devolved to tensions and pettiness, continuing online with Jonathan Kuminga and Morant spatting in the aftermath of Memphis' loss. The Grizzlies leave the series with many regrets, from losing Dillon Brooks, due to his foul on Gary Payton II, for one game before he struggled in his return and dropping Game 1 by one point on a missed layup by Morant. They had arguably their best season in franchise history, with a savvy front office and young roster. They can't let frustration overtake their future.
Miami (won 4-2 vs. Philadelphia): Jimmy Butler took revenge on the 76ers, audibly calling out the team for keeping Tobias Harris over him as he departed Game 6 with 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the clinching effort. Butler averaged 27.5 PPG against his old team, which he departed after the 2018-19 season for Miami, where he's now led the Heat to two east finals appearances in three years. Kyle Lowry (hamstring) missed four games in the series, including the last one, Bam Adebayo ran into some trouble against Joel Embiid and Miami struggled to shoot the three, but their defense wore away at a defeated Philadelphia group. They'll face another elite defensive group whether they see Boston or Milwaukee, needing Tyler Herro, Max Strus and Victor Oladipo to continue to build off last round. Duncan Robinson played 18 minutes as he falls out of favor.
Milwaukee (tied 3-3 vs. Boston): Stole Game 5 in Boston in improbable fashion, trailing by 14 points early in the quarter and getting a late three from Giannis Antetokounmpo after an offensive rebound, before he missed the potential game-tying free throw in the final seconds only to see Bobby Portis pour it back in. Milwaukee's become a scrap-heap offense in Khris Middleton's absence against a tough Celtics defense, sending Giannis barreling at Boston's interior hoping for the best. He's shooting 46.8%, well below his season average, and getting little help from his perimeter scorers with Jrue Holiday down to 35.3%. Giannis led another spirited comeback to within four points late in Game 6 at home, but looked tired after an early 17-point outburst. They'll be underdogs in Sunday's Game 7, likely without Middleton again.
Minnesota: Unsurprisingly expected to shop D'Angelo Russell with his extension-eligibility looming after a difficult first-round series against the Grizzlies. There'll be ample point guard options, as always, across the market though and it's hard to imagine Minnesota being able to sell high on their star guard after his rough finish. It's worth playing his situation out into next season.
New York: Scratch the long-held Damian Lillard dream in New York, with the guard reportedly uninspired by the Knicks' plan and that trade inevitably looking too expensive for the team anyway as they try to build out some youth and depth around R.J. Barrett.
Philadelphia (lost 2-4 vs. Miami): Suffered another grueling second-round defeat with James Harden playing uninspired basketball, finishing 4-for-9 and 0-for-2 in the second half of the Sixers' elimination game. Joel Embiid strangely admitted after that Harden is no longer his Houston self, while Doc Rivers chafed at notions that his job should be in danger. Daryl Morey affirmed him in the aftermath of their loss, retaining Rivers for next season, but the loss carried more devastation with Danny Green tearing his ACL. Harden committed to staying in Philadelphia after the loss, owning a $47-million player option this summer and is in position to sign the largest contract in NBA history ($270-million) if he opts out. It's a risky proposition, though one the 76ers are tied to after trading Ben Simmons, picks and Seth Curry for the star.
Phoenix (tied 3-3 vs. Dallas): In a good place heading home, where they've dominated the Mavericks by 57 points in three games, but concerns are growing for the west's best even if they sneak past Dallas on Sunday. Golden State looms, and Devin Booker did not play well at all in Game 6, Chris Paul turned the ball over more times than he hit shots, Deandre Ayton has struggled to exploit the Mavericks' five-out lineup and would face an even deadlier one next round against the Warriors. This is the last best chance for scorching Paul and this collective.