For the fourth consecutive season, the NBA will have a different champion.
In a grueling seven-game series between Milwaukee and Boston, the Celtics emerged victorious.
Boston defeated Milwaukee 109-81 on Sunday, marking the first time a team has won consecutive games in this series. Boston avoided elimination in Game 6 on the road and then knocked off the defending champions.
The Celtics will play the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, starting with Game 1 Tuesday in Miami (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).
The stars came to play with their seasons on the line.
Bucks All-NBA forward Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 20 rebounds and nine assists, and Boston’s Jaylen Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals, and Jayson Tatum had 23 points. Marcus Smart added 11 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Boston.
CAREER NIGHT: Tatum bests Giannis in all-time duel as Celtics force Game 7
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3s hurt Bucks again
The Celtics outscored the Bucks 51-21 on 3-pointers in Game 6 on Friday, and they outscored them 66-12 in Game 7 on Sunday – an 84-point difference over two games.
Milwaukee shot just 21.1% (4-for-33) on 3s and made just one in the second half as Boston pulled away. Wesley Matthews, Grayson Allen, Jrue Holiday and Pat Connaughton were a combined 0-for-18 from that range.
In the final two games of the series, the Bucks shot 11-for-62 on 3s, and the Celtics 39-for-98.
No matter how the series is framed, it’s hard to beat a quality team in the second round shooting like that from 3.
The Bucks are known for allowing 3s, and they made a conscious decision to let Boston forward Grant Williams shoot them. He struggled at times in this series, including 2-for-14 in Games 3, 4, 5, and 6, but he but made 7-for-18 when needed in Game 7.
Williams finished with a game-high 27 points.
No surprise: Antetokounmpo came to play
Win or lose, Antetokounmpo wasn’t playing Game 7 without a complete performance. He scored or assisted on 24 of the Bucks’ 26 points in the first quarter, including the first 17.
Antetokounmpo had 10 points, eight rebounds, six assists in the first quarter. He nearly had a triple-double: 25 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists, plus two steals and a block.
However, he struggled with his shots, making just 10-for-26 from the field and missing some interior shots that he usually makes. Give the Celtics credit. They made it tough on him the entire series.
Tatum stellar again
Tatum followed up his 46-point performance in Game 6 with 23 points, eight assists, six rebounds and a block. He took just 14 shots — a sign of the growth in his game. Tatum didn’t try to force his offense and he looked for others as the Bucks focused much of their defense on him.
He will need that same kind of production, patience and focus against the Heat.
No Middleton hurt Bucks
It was clear throughout the series, and especially the final two games – both Celtics victories – that Milwaukee sorely missed Khris Middleton, who didn’t play because of a sprained left knee.
Milwaukee struggled to generate offense outside of Antetokounmpo, and Middleton would have helped. He was a 20-point a game scorer in the regular season, able to knock down 3s and mid-range shots.
Without Middleton, just three Bucks (Antetokounmpo, Jrue Holiday and Pat Connaughton) averaged in double figures, and Milwaukee’s starters were outscored 86-65 by Boston’s starters.
The Bucks also missed Middleton’s defense.
What’s next for the Celtics
Boston won the season series, 2-1, against Heat, taking the first two games (Nov. 4, Jan. 31) and losing the final one (March 30).
Though Miami is the top seed and has home-court advantage, the Celtics may end up the favorites to win the series. Boston finished two games behind Miami in the East but had a better record than the Heat from Jan. 1 through the end of the regular season.
Both teams like to get after it defensively. Boston had the No. 1 defense and the Defensive Player of the Year (Marcus Smart) and Miami had the fourth-best defensive rating with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo providing inside-outside coverage.
Injuries are worth watching. Heat guard Kyle Lowry (strained left hamstring) missed four of the six games against Philadelphia, including the final two games, and Celtics center Robert Williams (sore left knee) missed the final four games against Milwaukee.
Follow Jeff Zillgitt on Twitter @JeffZillgitt
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Celtics-Bucks analysis: Boston deadly from long distance, Miami next
