BSJ Game Report: Celtics 108, Bucks 95 - Boston forces Game 7 behind brilliant Tatum performance

Everything you need to know about the Boston Celtics win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6, with BSJ insight and analysis. 

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out firing in the first quarter, drilling 3-pointer after 3-pointer, but they were matched on the other end by Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Celtics followed the normal script of this series, though, by putting together a strong second quarter, this time building up a 10-point halftime lead. They came out strong in the third as well, and they carried a 13-point lead into the fourth. It got up to 14, just like last game, and the Bucks made a big run, just like last game. This time, Jayson Tatum decided he wasn’t ready for the season to end and he scored 11 straight points to keep the Bucks at bay for the 108-95 win.

Box Score

HEADLINES

Jayson Freakin’ Tatum: I said in my preview before the game. The third thing to watch was Tatum’s star moment. I wrote “the best of the best don’t let their team lose in these situations. This is Tatum vs. Antetokounmpo. You want to be in the MVP conversation, Jayson? This is where you do it.” 

Well, he did it. Much more to come on Tatum. 

Nearly the same story: And he needed to do it because the Celtics were swirling down the same toilet bowl for a minute there. It was a 14-point game, they were stagnating and matchup-hunting, Milwaukee was running off missed jumpers … it was all following the same script. This time, though, they were able to turn off the water. A couple of well-placed timeouts by Udoka helped get his guys some extra rest and reset their approach to get back out on the attack. 

Confidence pays off: The Celtics came into this game feeling pretty good about their chances, and they proved that their confidence was well-placed. 

TURNING POINT

Tatum subbed back into the game with 9:37 to go and the Bucks gaining momentum. He scored the next 11 points, and even though Milwaukee actually cut the lead to just 4 at the beginning of that stint, but it got back up to 8 by the end. It was all Celtics from there. 

FIVE UP 

Jayson Tatum: 46 points, 53.1% shooting (46.7% 3pt), 9 rebounds, 4 assists. He was everything you want a star player to be. 

Marcus Smart: The final two minutes of Game 5 were some of Smart’s worst moments in a while. He knew that. 

“That final minute, those final minutes ate me alive,” Smart said. “My guys, teammates, coaches, was doing a good job of making sure that I stay as composed as I could and keep my mind right, cause I was really hurt after that. I felt like I let my team down. 'Just be you,' that's just all they kept telling me. Damon Stoudamire pulled me to the side and just told me — cause I dropped my head a couple times in those possessions — he was just, 'I've never seen you do that and I just want you to not to lose confidence in yourself because we need you.' So come in tonight, I just wanted to go out there and make up for my teammates and help 'em out and try to get this win.”

Smart says he hasn’t really slept since that game, and that he even went back to the practice facility afterward to get his mind right. 

It worked. 

Smart scored 21, shooting 5-9 from deep, hitting 4 of his first 5 early in the game. He shot 8-16, had 7 assists, 5 rebounds, and zero turnovers. He was huge in this game for Boston and he had some great moments defending Antetokounmpo. 

“Smart had a big-time performance, played great for us,” Jaylen Brown said. “Got us going offensively and we ended up finding a way to win down the stretch. Big-time performance from Smart today.”

Jaylen Brown: Aside from an early third-quarter battle with the yips dribbling the ball, Jaylen was solid. He hit a huge shot after Tatum’s big run to put Boston back up 11 late in the fourth quarter. He finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. 

Al Horford: A tough shooting night for Horford but he was a monster defensively. Just a brilliant performance on that end. He had 4 blocked shots on the night, 2 of which came in that critical fourth-quarter stretch (including a blocked Antetokounmpo dunk). His performance might get lost in a sea of storylines, but it shouldn’t. He was huge. 

Derrick White: He’s been fantastic in this series, especially after Game 2. He didn’t hit a ton of shots in this game, but his impact moving the ball and playing defense was great. He took a charge on Antetokounmpo, and he just knows how to be part of a great offense. 

TWO DOWN

Grant Williams: He’s not terrible out there, and he cleaned up his defense a lot so I’m not gonna kill him. But he again isn’t hitting his shots right now. After a big start to the series, he’s slowed down a lot. Would be great to see him hit some in Game 7.

Payton Pritchard: Just a tough series for him. He looks out of place switching onto Giannis. 

TOP PLAYS

THREE TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Poise under pressure

They always seem to bounce back. 

I don’t know how Game 7 will go. I’m confident Boston will win it because they have been the better team for too much of this series to not win, but Game 7s are weird and Giannis Antetokounmpo is still capable of some crazy stuff. 

However it goes, let it be said that once Udoka got full control of this team, they have taken on his personality and grit. They get knocked down, but they don’t stay down. 

Such a far cry from what they used to be. They showed the necessary poise to hold off the Bucks’ charge in the fourth, finally making some plays on both ends when they needed to. It was Horford doing the dirty work on defense and Tatum hitting superstar shots on the other end. 

Amazing stuff. 

- The early tip will probably matter

I know it’s only a four hour difference, but the early Sunday start (3:30 p.m.) just means those energy meters are a little bit lower. 

The more they beat up on Antetokounmpo, the more likely it’ll be that he gets a little too tired at the end. 

This is going to be the wildest slugfest on Sunday. This has been an amazing series. People were right when they expected this to be the best series of the playoffs. It’s been amazing. 

- I’m so mad at these guys

They robbed me of my prediction. I knew they were the better team when I said they’d split in Boston, split in Milwaukee, and then it’d be all Boston from there. They had that Game 5 in their hands and this is the Game 6 I was expecting in a closeout game. 

I know if it was a closeout game for Boston, things might have gone differently, but I really did expect the C’s to win this game regardless.

I just wanted my victory lap. Bucks fans have been pissing me off in my YouTube comments.