His return alone was already a nice Christmas present. Exit in extremis from the Covid protocol the day before, the star of the Bucks and double MVP of the regular season (2019, 2020), Giannis Antetokounmpo, was back in business on Saturday, ready even before the fight in the Santa Claus costume. Certainly, Milwaukee had been able to play well and win in the five matches played without his star (3-2), but his return was eagerly awaited.
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Upon arrival, he was simply providential. The polymorphic Greek winger made a remarkable stat line (36 pts, 12 rebounds, 5 assists) to push the Milwaukee Bucks into the in-goal, winners with all the cruelty and power of a defending Boston champion. Celtics, having only led the last thirty seconds of the match (117-113)! A necessarily painful and a little unfair outcome also for the men of Ime Udoka, light cavalry who will have been in the lead all the time, who will have resisted for a long time, before giving in on an award-winning shot from Wesley Matthews at thirty seconds from time.
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A happy outcome for the Bucks, carried, raised by “The Greek Freak” all the second half. And yet, his first act had been very ordinary. Not in the right choices, the best player of the last NBA Finals did not achieve much. And even when he managed to create a gap, the rest of the defending champion troops were hardly more inspired to finish, especially long distance, where the Bucks wasted a lot of entry (2/13 to 3 points to start).
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Wesley Matthews, the award-winning fallen from the sky
The Celtics, who had corrected Milwaukee eleven days earlier (117-103), had the keys: a game removed, an aggressive Jaylen Brown (19 pts at the break) and valuable rotations, like point guard Payton Pritchard, perfect in the role, and which increased his growing playing time, in the absence of the German leader, Dennis Schröder, who in turn entered the viral bubble.
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At -15 at the break, Milwaukee was clearly in the rough when the Greek painter’s hour struck. More committed, more ferocious, the Hellenic interior finally opened the breaches, like this explosive and powerful reverse-dunk. The Bucks were showing the muscles, but Boston still found the solution to the race, the good idea to resist. But the more the minutes passed, the more it became, obviously, complicated. The Bucks threat was there. And on a collective bloodstroke behind the arc, the Wisconsin franchise even stuck to a small point (83-84, 32nd).
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Assaulted, Boston did not flinch. Not yet. The eight players thrown open by Udoka all scored. The Celtics varied the offensive solutions and four minutes from the end, Boston remained in front (103-109). Before completely disappearing on yet another kick from the monumental Antetokounmpo at 1’30 ” from the end (111-111). The Fiserv Forum stamped its feet, it pitched everywhere, it was unbreathable. Jayson Tatum lost a crucial ball on the dribble with 40 seconds remaining. But Robert Williams seemed to save the Celtics homeland with a masterful counter on Jrue Holiday on the counterattack … before the ball landed in the mimines of Wesley Matthews, who was punishing 3 points and sent the Bucks past. for the first time in the match, 30 seconds from the end. For a Christmas victory that came down from the sky.
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