Giannis Antetokounmpo

Two nights after failing to get a buzzer-beater to fall, the Boston Celtics knocked off the Milwaukee Bucks 122-114 at Fiserv Forum and halted an eight-game winning streak for the Central Division leaders.

It's just the third victory in the last nine games for the Celtics (22-23), who played a bit short-handed on Friday, with Daniel Theis on his way to the Chicago Bulls and Evan Fournier awaiting his Boston debut following Thursday's trade deadline. 

That gave big man Robert Williams III an opportunity in the starting lineup as head coach Brad Stevens tinkered with the rotation. 

The victory gave the season series to Boston. That would count as a tiebreaker should the C's finish the regular season with the same record as the Bucks (29-15).

Notable Performers

Jayson Tatum, SF, Boston Celtics: 34 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds

Marcus Smart, PG, Boston Celtics: 23 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF, Milwaukee Bucks: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists

Khris Middleton, SF, Milwaukee Bucks: 19 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds 

Williams Makes Case for Starting

Around the time it became clear Williams would make his first start for Boston this season, reports emerged that the C's met with free agent Andre Drummond.

"Boston would like to add him to fill their hole in the middle," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski said on NBA Countdown. "Boston has a real shot at him."

After seeing Williams dominate the Milwaukee Bucks, it's worth wondering if he should be given a bigger opportunity.

Williams was electric in 27 minutes, posting seven points, nine rebounds, six assists, five blocks and two steals without committing a turnover. He made three of his five field goals, including a few thundering dunks that noticeably got his teammates fired up. 

Whether or not Williams—a third-year pro out of Texas A&M—is the Celtics' answer at center remains to be seen. But he showed he has all the tools for head coach Brad Stevens to at least pencil him in as a possible long-term solution up front. 

Building a 21-point lead also allowed Stevens to try out a few more options in the frontcourt. The recently acquired Moritz Wagner posted three points and five rebounds over 10 minutes in his Boston debut. Tacko Fall added another highlight to his reel by finishing off an alley-oop.

Yet few of the Celtics' bigs showed as much promise as Williams, who may see his minutes tick up whether Boston lands Drummond or not.  

Bucks' Winning Streak Finally Snapped

The Celtics did what the Memphis Grizzlies, New York Knicks, Washington Wizards, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs and Indiana Pacers could not over the last few weeks and took down a Milwaukee team that had been playing at its best.

Boston can thank some truly putrid shooting for that. 

Milwaukee shot 44.4 percent from the floor, but it was a 6-of-12 night from Antetokounmpo, a 2-of-10 performance from Brook Lopez and 5-of-15 shooting from Donte DiVincenzo that doomed the Bucks. The lack of shooting extended to the bench, with reserve sniper Pat Connaughton going 1-of-7. 

Maybe Milwaukee was due for a down night, or maybe some trade candidates being able to exhale led to the letdown. But it would be unexpected for that type of performance to continue. 

After battling to a 60-55 halftime deficit for the Bucks, Boston came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring Milwaukee 43-34 while drilling nine of 14 three-pointers. Antetokounmpo scored 12 of his 16 points in the third quarter but couldn't get himself in enough of a rhythm to counter the Celtics attack.

Milwaukee head coach Mike Budenholzer, seeming to sense the game was out of reach, mostly played his reserves in the fourth quarter.   

What's Next?

The Celtics travel to Oklahoma City for a Saturday matchup with the Thunder at 9 p.m. ET. They'll take the floor without Kemba Walker, who has been sitting out the second game of back-to-backs because of his knee. The Bucks will host the New York Knicks at Fiserv Forum on Saturday at 8 p.m. to finish their own back-to-back.

Make it eight wins in a row for the Milwaukee Bucks, who defeated the Boston Celtics, 121-119, on Wednesday at Fiserv Forum as Giannis Antetokounmpo returned to the starting lineup.

The win both evened the season series between the Bucks and Celtics at one apiece as well as ensuring Milwuakee's nine-game lead in the Central Division will remain in tact for at least another day. 

As the Thursday's NBA trade deadline nears, it's clear the Bucks fell comfortable with the way their roster has been built and recent wins over fellow contenders in the Philadelphia 76ers, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers and now the Celtics goes to how well things are working—especially since adding P.J. Tucker to the frontcourt earlier this month. 

The same can't be said for Boston. The Celtics have now lost five of their last six games and barely hanging onto the No. 8 seed in the East as general manager Danny Ainge has just a few hours remaining to address as many issues as he can through the trade market.

Notable Performers

Jaylen Brown, SG, Boston Celtics: 24 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists

Kemba Walker, PG, Boston Celtics: 23 points, 6 assists, 3 steals

Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF, Milwaukee Bucks: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists

Khris Middleton, SF, Milwaukee Bucks: 27 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists

Bobby Portis, C, Milwaukee Bucks: 21 points, 4 rebounds, 4 three-pointers

Bucks Reserves Star In Giannis' Return

After knocking off the Indiana Pacers on Monday night without Antetokounmpo (knee sprain) available, Milwaukee proved it could beat the Celtics without him, too. 

That didn't stop the Greek Freak from returning to the floor, but it certainly gave him some cover to rediscover his rhythm as he works his way back from his injury. Antetokounmpo went 1-of-5 from the field in the first with just four points but recorded four rebounds and four assists. The back-to-back MVP was clearly letting the game come to him as he worked out the issues with his jump shot.

Instead reserve center Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez teamed up with Khris Middleton to keep Boston at arm's length for the vast majority of the night. 

Portis tied his season-high in points with 21 on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor as the size of Milwaukee was just too much for Boston to hold back. 

Despite the Celtics cutting what had been a 20-point lead to single digits with less than five minutes to play, the Bucks never once looked like they were losing their grip on the game—especially not with all five starters scoring at least 13 points. 

As Antetokounmpo works to get back to his typical level of scoring, the rest of the roster is more than capable of carrying the load and keeping the winning streak alive.

Celtics Slump Continues

The Celtics could've made this an easy night for Ainge with a win over a title contender like the Bucks. Now he might not get much sleep at all. 

With the NBA trade deadline set for Thursday afternoon, Ainge will have to find an opportunity to take advantage of as Boston continues to struggle heading into the home stretch of a playoff race. Where he's able to add help remains to be seen, but the Celtics appear from from title contenders as is. 

That'll get even more difficult to prove after forward Semi Ojeleye left with a hip injury in the first half and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. 

It wasn't until the fourth quarter, after the Bucks had taken a 25-point lead, that Boston appeared to show any sense of urgency, out-scoring the Bucks 33-21 in the final frame with Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker taking over late. 

The Celtics even had a chance to take a lead with a minute left after Antetokounmpo was called for a charge, but Marcus Smart (2-of-10 from three) couldn't knock down an open shot behind the arc. Smart had another chance with just seconds left on the clock and a clear look at the rim, but the shot was immediately blocked by Brook Lopez. 

A final, last-second three-pointer from Daniel Theis had a chance to win it, but barely missed the rim. 

As the Bucks escaped with a win, Boston returns to its hotel awaiting to see if they'll have any new teammates when they take court at Fiserv Forum on Friday after the deadline passes.

What's Next

The Bucks and Celtics will wrap up their season series on Friday at Fiserv Forum at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss Monday's game against the Indiana Pacers due to a knee sprain, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.

He played 34 minutes in the Bucks' last game Saturday, finishing with 26 points and 15 assists in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

The 26-year-old has mostly been able to avoid major injuries in his career but did miss one game earlier this season due to back spasms. 

An ankle injury limited him in the playoffs last year, while he played just 63 of 73 possible regular-season games in 2019-20. However, the forward never missed more than 10 games in any of his first seven years in the NBA.

Keeping Antetokounmpo healthy is obviously key for Milwaukee considering the impact he makes on the court.

He won his second straight MVP Award last season after averaging 29.5 points, 13.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, adding the Defensive Player of the Year Award. He has followed it up this year with 29.0 points, 11.7 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game as the Bucks try to live up to their lofty expectations.

Milwaukee will likely stay cautious with a player who signed a $228 million extension before the start of the season, but the squad will hope Antetokounmpo will be back to full strength before long.

Khris Middleton usually takes on a bigger offensive role with Giannis unavailable, while Bobby Portis can see more playing time in the frontcourt.

The Milwaukee Bucks are quietly climbing the Eastern Conference standings, having won 11 of their last 12 games. If you haven't noticed, back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo doesn't mind. 

"We don't play for people to talk about us," he said, per Eric Woodyard of ESPN. "I kind of like it. I just want to be left alone. I never liked bright lights. I never liked people talking about us. It just adds pressure to me and my teammates to come in and do what we do." 

The Bucks' success has been slightly overshadowed by the East's other power squads, namely the Philadelphia 76ers, who are atop the standings at 29-13, and the super-team Brooklyn Nets, whose Big 3 of James Harden, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant was effective enough on its own before Blake Griffin was bought out of his Detroit Pistons contract and joined them. 

"We're just gonna keep doing what we're doing," Antetokounmpo said. "We just keep enjoying each other and keep playing to win games and playing the right way."

Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo provided a simple explanation Wednesday for why he sat down on the Wells Fargo Center court late in overtime of his team's 109-105 road win over the Philadelphia 76ers: He was just having fun.

Antetokounmpo told reporters he came out with a different mindset in the second half after trailing by 14:

"Is there something wrong with having fun? I don't think there's anything wrong with having fun. I just like to have fun. In the first half, I was not having fun. I kind of, you know, talked to myself at the half and said, 'No matter how bad the game is, you can't forget what you have to do, which is have fun.'

"Obviously, there's a couple times where I exaggerate, but I don't want to take anything back. I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to sit down.' I was having fun. I was talking to my teammates—I was talking to them. I was just trying to be in the moment. But I was just having fun."

Antetokounmpo finished with a game-high 32 points to go with 15 rebounds and five assists in 43 minutes. Milwaukee outscored Philadelphia by five in the third quarter and nine in the fourth to force the extra period and walked away with a statement victory over a fellow Eastern Conference contender.

Not everybody was happy with the two-time reigning NBA MVP's celebration, though. Sixers center Dwight Howard said he almost channeled his inner "Stone Cold" Steve Austin:

"I wanted to go and Stone Cold Stunner him, but I had already got one tech. It's basketball. He wanted to have fun, but we'll see these guys again. Today, we allowed them to get back into the game. We did it. We can't control that.

"But he had a hell of a game. Hit some tough shots late at the end of the game, reigning MVP, and he had a great game. I'm not one to talk trash or say anything negative, but we'll see them again and it'll be a different result."

The Bucks (26-14) and Sixers (28-13) will meet again for two straight on April 22 and April 24 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Those matchups could play a key role in helping determine which team gets the No. 1 seed in the East.

The Milwaukee Bucks made progress toward their quest for the top seed in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday, defeating the top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers 109-105 and snapping the team's six-game winning streak in the process.

Philadelphia's Furkan Korkmaz forced overtime with a tying three with 1.1 seconds left, capping a 9-2 run for Philadelphia in the final 40.1 seconds of play. But Philadelphia, which led for much of the game, couldn't hang on in overtime, as Giannis Antetokounmpo went on a personal 7-0 run in the extra period to secure the win.

Antetokounmpo posted a double-double with 32 points and 15 rebounds for the 26-14 Bucks, who are now winners of five straight.

For the 28-13 76ers, Tobias Harris led with 19 points and nine rebounds.

Notable Performers

• Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks: 32 PTS, 15 REB
• Tobias Harris, 76ers: 19 PTS, 9 REB
• Jrue Holiday, Bucks: 19 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST
• Danny Green, 76ers: 18 PTS, 6 REB

76ers Suffer Late Collapse Against Antetokounmpo

Philadelphia hasn't had to game-plan for containing back-to-back MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo yet this season. But when they were thinking about this meeting in the back of their minds, the 76ers probably envisioned Joel Embiid being a part of it in some way.

When the two teams played last season, Embiid was tasked with covering Antetokounmpo more often than any other Philadelphia player, according to Kyle Neubeck of Philly Voice. Behind him, it was Al Horford, who is now with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That meant it would really be a new ballgame against Milwaukee on Wednesday.

With Ben Simmons in charge of keeping Antetokounmpo in check, the 76ers had little trouble flying out to a 45-31 halftime lead. They outshot the Bucks from the field, hitting 41.3 percent of attempts overall and 35.7 percent from three.

The 76ers limited Antetokounmpo to just four points by the break, days after the star posted a triple-double for the third consecutive game.

Harris had another strong outing offensively, leading Philadelphia with 10 points at the half.

But for all of their defensive success in the first half, the offensive side of their game suffered heading down the stretch. Milwaukee was able to overcome its deficit early after the break, with every Bucks starter scoring in double digits.

Philadelphia's collapse was punctuated when Seth Curry, who has been dealing with an ankle issue throughout the season, headed to the locker room late in the fourth quarter. The team later announced he would not return after suffering a left ankle sprain.

He dropped 10 points in his 26 minutes on the court.

Bucks Overcome Slow Start

The Bucks were off to a miserable start, missing 18 of 21 shots leading up to the midway point of the second quarter. They didn't record their first field goal of the frame until there was 6:26 left, with the only points leading up to then stemming from a pair of Jrue Holiday free throws.

They ended the first half by shooting just 25 percent from the field and hitting one shot from beyond the arc on 17 attempts, accruing just 31 points in 24 minutes. That's a dismal number for any team, but it's particularly eyebrow-raising when you consider that the Bucks are the league's second-most productive offense, with an average of 119.7 points per game, and they were playing against the Embiid-less 76ers.

Holiday was the star for Milwaukee in the first half, single-handedly saving their second quarter and leading all scorers with 12 points at the break. Khris Middleton was next, though he only had seven points on 3-of-9 shooting.

Antetokounmpo overcame his struggles in the third quarter, dropping nine points, while Donte DiVincenzo overtook the team lead in scoring with 15 points. He ended the night with 20.

Altogether, the Bucks posted 34 points in the third quarter—more than their first- and second-quarter totals combined—to encroach within nine points of Philadelphia, which once led by as many as 19 points.

In the fourth, everything came together for the Bucks. They opened the quarter on a 6-2 run and by the time there were under eight minutes left to play, they managed to get the lead back and hold on to it, asserting their dominance over the top team in the East after a tough start.

What's Next?

Philadelphia will host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.

The Bucks head home to face the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

Giannis Antetokounmpo knew Sunday's All-Star Game was over before it even started thanks to LeBron James' drafting ability.

The Milwaukee Bucks star told reporters, "Yeah, it's over guys," when he found out the starting lineup was himself, James, Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic and Nikola Jokic and then helped Team LeBron back up the talk as the game MVP on the way to a 170-150 victory over Team Durant.

After the game, Giannis said the King will make quite the general manager following his playing days:

To be fair to Kevin Durant, his team was without arguably its top two players. He was sidelined, and the league announced Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid was also out because of contact tracing.

Team LeBron was dominant throughout, winning the first three quarters leading up to the target-score finish that was put in place for the fourth. Antetokounmpo was unstoppable around the rim and finished with 35 points on a perfect 16-of-16 shooting.

Curry added 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting from deep, which was the exact clip from three-point range for Damian Lillard on his way to 32 points off the bench. Lillard also won the game by connecting from a foot inside half court on the final shot.

LeBron played just 13 minutes with four points and let his drafting do the talking over his play.

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo added another accolade to his growing trophy cabinet, winning All-Star Game MVP in Team LeBron's 170-150 win over Team Durant.  

After the victory, Antetokounmpo commented on how the honor is more meaningful based on its namesake, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant.

"Having an award named after Kobe Bryant in my house is a great feeling," he told reporters. "... I know he would be happy."

The 26-year-old's triumph would've been unanimous were it not for the fan vote.

Antetokounmpo was a perfect 16-of-16 from the field for a game-high 35 points. He also filled up the stat sheet with seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. The two-time reigning league MVP seemed to take it upon himself to be the top dog on the floor.

In the grand scheme of things, winning All-Star MVP isn't the most illustrious achievement of an NBA player's career. It's typically toward the bottom of any resume for one of the game's greats.

Having said that, a quick perusal of the list of past winners shows how almost all of the biggest names in NBA history have lifted the trophy at least once.

Bryant's four MVPs tied Bob Pettit for the all-time lead. LeBron James, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson and Shaquille O'Neal are all three-time winners. Charles Barkley, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Magic Johnson, Scottie Pippen, Kevin Durant, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Jerry West and Bill Russell have each earned the distinction, as well.

Antetokounmpo is certainly on a Hall of Fame trajectory, so it feels appropriate to see him now join that group.

LeBron James' All-Star Game dynasty as a general manager and player continued for another year. 

Team LeBron defeated Team Durant 170-150 in Sunday's 2021 NBA All-Star Game at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Damian Lillard proved Dame Time carries over to the All-Star Game and pulled up from half court to drain the winning basket with the target-score finish, which turned off the clock for the fourth quarter and created a situation in which the two teams played until one reached the winning point total.

Lillard hit the winning shot, but Giannis Antetokounmpo won MVP with 35 points, seven rebounds and three assists on a perfect 16-of-16 shooting from the field. Lillard threatened for the award as well with 32 points, while Curry added 28 points behind 8-of-16 shooting from deep.

Bradley Beal led Team Durant in scoring with 26 points.

It was more of the same for Team LeBron, which also beat the team Stephen Curry drafted in 2018 and the teams Antetokounmpo drafted in 2019 and 2020.

That All-Star Game history for Team LeBron wasn't the only reason James' side was expected to set the tone right out of the gates. He also surrounded himself with a starting lineup of Antetokounmpo, Luka Doncic, Curry and Nikola Jokic, which inspired Giannis to tell reporters "Yeah, it's over guys" before the game even started.

It also didn't help Team Durant that the NBA announced Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons were out for the game because of contact tracing.

While Simmons was on Team LeBron, Embiid was a starter for Team Durant. KD was also sidelined, so the roster was down arguably its top two players before tip-off. A quick start was also important because the winner of each quarter received $150,000 for a company that helps provide scholarships to historically Black colleges and universities.

Team LeBron played for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, while Team Durant played for the United Negro College Fund. The winning team earned $300,000, while each organization received an initial $500,000 contribution.

The cumulative score also mattered because the clock was turned off at the start of the fourth quarter to create the target score of 170, which was 24 more than Team LeBron's total after three quarters in honor of Kobe Bryant.

Turns out, Giannis was right. His team won every quarter before the target score was set and cruised to victory.

Team LeBron won the first period 40-39 thanks largely to Curry. The two-time MVP put on an absolute show with a no-look pass to Jokic and four three-pointers, one of which was from nearly half court and another of which was still in the air when he turned his back to the hoop.

There was also the usual display of gravity-defying dunks with Antetokounmpo bullying his way to the hoop, LeBron throwing down a reverse jam and Zion Williamson flushing down a lob, although Zion missed more dunks than he made in the first quarter.

Team LeBron was far more dominant in the second quarter with a 60-41 win that featured a James tomahawk slam, Antetokounmpo pouring in the points, Curry hitting another three from nearly half court, Logo Lillard doing the same and a run of dunks from guards with Curry, Chris Paul, Doncic and Lillard all throwing them down.

The little guys did more than just dunk as Paul defeated Mike Conley in an amusing jump ball to kickstart the period.

Game-like intensity made an appearance in the third quarter with both sides going back-and-forth even as Giannis banked in a three to go 16-of-16 from the field. Bradley Beal, Kyrie Irving and James Harden countered for Team Durant to keep it close.

However, Lillard and Paul George hit clutch threes in crunch time to preserve the 46-45 win and yet another quarter victory for Team LeBron.

The only real drama remaining for the fourth quarter was whether Antetokounmpo would miss a shot as Team LeBron moved closer to the target score with a four-point play from Jaylen Brown, another triple from Curry and back-to-back threes from Lillard even before his half-court heave to win it.

Team Durant dialed up the defensive pressure at times, but it was staring at far too big a hole to climb out of when the target score was set.