Boston (1-2) at Milwaukee (2-1)
When: Monday, May 9th, 2022
Where: Fiserv Forum,
Milwaukee, WI
Time: 7:30 ET | TV: ESPN
Opening Odds: Milwaukee -1.5/211
After three days of rest following Game 2, the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics put on an exciting show on Saturday afternoon. The Bucks came away with a thrilling 103-101 victory to hold home court advantage and a 2-1 series lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Giannis Antetokounmpo once again led the Milwaukee attack, scoring over 40 points in a playoff game for the sixth time in his career, while also contributing defensively. Game 4 is set for Monday at Fiserv Forum and the Celtics know it’s almost a must-win game before heading back to Boston for Wednesday’s Game 5. Boston trailed by 13 with 9:48 left in the game and stormed all the way back to take a 100-99 after a pair of free throws from Jaylen Brown.
Antetokounmpo and Holiday each hit a shot that put the Bucks up by three again, but Boston’s Marcus Smart sank the first of two free throws before intentionally missing the second. A couple of put-back layups were unsuccessful as time ran out. Smart probably should have received three free-throws, but the refs deemed he was not in the act of shooting when fouled. The Celtics were outscored 34-17 in the third quarter. The Celtics attempted 17 more free-throws than Milwaukee and outscored them by 14 at the charity stripe, but Boston shot a dismal 9-of-33 from beyond the arc. The home team has now won six of the seven matchups this season with the Celtics going 5-1-1 ATS. Milwaukee comes into this contest as a 1-point favorite with a total of 212.
Boston really struggled to make baskets in Game 3, especially star Jayson Tatum, who was a horrific 4-of-19 from the field. Tatum also missed all six of his 3-point attempts and was held to 10 points. He did however contribute on the other end of the floor with five blocks in 41 minutes of action. Brown and Al Horford picked up the scoring slack with 27 and 22 points respectively. Brown also had 12 rebounds, while Horford recorded a rare double-double as well with his 16 rebounds. Horford is shooting 52.1 percent and making 50 percent of his 3-point shots in the playoffs, while also grabbing 9.6 rebounds. Smart came back after missing Game 2 with a thigh contusion, but Sam Hauser will be out on Monday with a right shoulder issue.
The Bucks would never make it this far without the Greek Freak for sure. Antetokounmpo had a monster night on Saturday with 42 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists while shooting 16-of-30 from the floor. He had plenty of help on this night, as Brook Lopez (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Jrue Holiday (25 points, 7 rebounds 3 assists) contributed. If Antetokounmpo can get that sort of help on a nightly basis, look out. The Bucks are dominating this series in the paint and had 52 points inside in Game 3. Khris Middleton is still out with an MCL sprain, but George Hill has returned after dealing with an abdomen injury. Hill was held scoreless in 11 minutes off the bench in Game 3.
This is turning out to be a really competitive series. I still think Boston has the better team, but this season series has been dominated by the home team. With another line close to pickem, I’ll have to side with the Bucks at home here. The inside game is killing the Celtics right now.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
Pick: Bucks -1
