Tatum out-duels Giannis, as Celtics force decider vs. Bucks

Boston forward Jayson Tatum poured in 46 points as the Celtics defeated the NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks 108-95 on Friday to force a decisive game seven in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

With his team facing elimination, Tatum delivered, drilling seven of the Celtics' 17 three-pointers and helping them withstand a 44-point, 20-rebound performance from Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and knot the best-of-seven series at three games each.

Antetokoumpo posted the first 40-point, 20-rebound game since Shaquille O'Neal in 2001, but his third 40-point outburst in four games wasn't enough for the reigning champs to advance.

They'll have to battle for a place in the Eastern Conference finals in Boston on Sunday -- the same day that the team Milwaukee beat in last season's championship series, the Phoenix Suns, play the Dallas Mavericks in game seven of their Western Conference series.

Tatum reeled off 11 straight Boston points in the fourth quarter to help thwart a rally by the Bucks, who closed a 13-point deficit to four on Antetokounmpo's three-pointer early in the final period.

It looked briefly as if the Bucks might author another impressive comeback victory, after erasing a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to win game five on Wednesday.

But Tatum and the rest of the Celtics wouldn't let that happen.

"I think we played with a little more toughness this game," Tatum said. "Our season was on the line. I knew that and we knew that. We had to give it all we've got."

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, and point guard Marcus Smart added 21 points for the Celtics.

Jrue Holiday scored 17 for Milwaukee, who remain without three-time All-Star forward Khris Middleton, who has missed nine games with a sprained left knee.

Agence France-Presse

NBA: Celtics defense suffocate Pistons late en route to 5th straight win

Jayson Tatum scored 31 points Friday as the Boston Celtics rode a dominant 4th quarter to a 114-103 win over the visiting Detroit Pistons.

Tatum scored at least 30 points for a 5th straight game and added 8 rebounds and 6 assists. Jaylen Brown had 22 points with 8 rebounds and 4 assists, and Marcus Smart added 20 points for Boston, which has notched 5 straight wins.

Boston expanded its 92-90 lead with 7 straight points to begin the 4th. Al Horford capped the run with back-to-back buckets that forced a Detroit timeout with 9:44 left.

Tatum's step-back 3-pointer and a Payton Pritchard jumper at the 6:53 mark put the hosts ahead by double digits for the first time, 104-94.

Boston didn't allow a field goal in the 4th quarter until there were 30.2 seconds left in the frame. It held a 22-13 scoring edge in the period.

Cade Cunningham had a team-high 27 points for the Pistons, who have lost back-to-back games following a 6-2 stretch. Jerami Grant and Marvin Bagley III each scored 20 for Detroit.

The Celtics used a 10-3 run to take their first lead at 14-13. Tatum finished the stretch with a drive and dunk with 6:29 left in the 1st.

A quick response lifted Detroit to a 23-19 lead at the four-minute mark, but the edge closed to 34-32 by quarter's end. Cunningham had 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting and Grant hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening 12 minutes as the Pistons shot 50 percent from the field.

Boston shot 10 of 17 and held a 29-28 scoring advantage in the second quarter to cut the visitors' lead to 62-61. The teams stacked runs as Detroit scored seven straight to break a 43-43 tie and Boston immediately knotted the game at 50-50 thanks in part to a Derrick White 3-pointer.

From the 5:12 mark until halftime, neither side led by more than three. It was more of the same to start the second half.

A three-point play by Grant Williams gave Boston an 86-82 lead -- its largest of the third quarter -- with 2:35 left, but 3-pointers by Saddiq Bey and Cunningham flipped the score back in Detroit's favor. White's layup in the final minute reestablished a 92-90 lead for the Celtics heading into the final period.

-reuters

NBA: Celtics use huge second-half run to topple Jokic, Nuggets

Jayson Tatum had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points and eight rebounds and the visiting Boston Celtics rallied to beat the Denver Nuggets 105-87 on Sunday.

Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker scored 14 each and Robert Williams III scored 10 points for the Celtics, who went on a 31-3 run in the third and fourth quarters.

Nikola Jokic had 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. had 22 points and 11 rebounds, Facundo Campazzo scored 14 and Will Barton had 13 for Denver. The Nuggets had their eight-game winning streak snapped.

Denver led 79-65 with 2:17 left in the third quarter but the Celtics took control from that point.

Walker scored seven points, Brown had six to get Boston within a point early in the fourth quarter, and Langford hit two free throws to give the Celtics an 80-79 lead, their first of the game.

The Nuggets missed 10 straight shots and had five turnovers following Campazzo's 3-pointer that put them ahead by 14. The run ended with Monte Morris' jumper with 10-footer with 7:08 remaining.

Tatum then hit a jumper and a long 3-pointer to give Boston a 90-82 lead with 6:20 left.

Jokic got a rebound to get his 14th triple-double of the season and 55th of his career but he turned it over, leading to a dunk by Williams. The Celtics made two more field goals after misses by Jokic to push the lead to 96-82 with 4:41 left.

Porter's three-point play broke another Denver drought and was just the second Nuggets field goal since late in the third quarter.

The Nuggets scored just eight points over the final 14:17 of the game and missed 22 of their final 25 shots.

Denver led by 14 late in the first quarter and by 11 in the final minute of the second after two free throws by Porter. Smart hit a 3-pointer and Tatum a layup with less than a second left in the period to cut the Nuggets' lead to 51-45 at halftime.

-reuters

NBA: Jayson Tatum's career-high 53 carries Celtics to OT thriller

Jayson Tatum scored 35 of his career-high 53 points in the second half as the Boston Celtics erased a 17-point deficit to outlast the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves 145-136 in overtime Friday night.

Tatum shot 16-of-25 from the field, had six 3-pointers and added 10 rebounds as the Celtics won for the fourth time in five games. Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and Marcus Smart 24 points and eight assists.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 30 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to lead the league-worst Timberwolves, who rallied from down 11 with 2:51 left in regulation to force overtime. 

D'Angelo Russell scored 26 with eight assists and Anthony Edwards had 24 points.

Boston led 122-111 before 3-pointers from Towns and Russell helped Minnesota get within three. 

The visitors knotted the score at 124 on another Russell trey that banked in with 9.7 seconds remaining, and Tatum missed a chance at a game-winner at the buzzer.

Brown and Kemba Walker drained back-to-back threes to put the Celtics up 132-127 in the extra period. 

Walker hit again from deep, and three free throws from Tatum had Boston ahead 138-132. Minnesota got no closer than five the rest of the way.

The Timberwolves began the third quarter on a 13-5 run for their largest lead of the game at 79-62. 

Trailing 87-74, the Celtics got within two following a 16-5 stretch, during which Tatum scored 13 straight points. The Celtics entered the fourth down 97-92.

Boston grabbed its first lead since 7:35 of the first when Walker hit a pair of free throws for a 101-100 margin with 8:21 to go. 

Payton Pritchard and Tatum followed with threes, and the Celtics stretched their advantage to seven.

The Timberwolves led 66-57 after a disastrous first half for the Celtics. Boston turned the ball over 12 times, and Minnesota took advantage, shooting 26-of-47 (55.3 percent) from the field.

The Timberwolves were up 26-22 with 2:09 remaining in the first before ending the quarter on a 13-3 run. 

The Celtics didn't get back within single digits until Tatum hit a 3-pointer with 7:58 left in the half to trim the margin to 49-40.

-reuters

NBA: Celtics hand Rockets 16th straight loss in blowout

Jaylen Brown scored 24 points, Jayson Tatum added 23 and the Boston Celtics rolled to a 134-107 victory over the host Houston Rockets on Sunday at Toyota Center.

The Celtics, who have won five of six games, overcame an early eight-point deficit courtesy of Tatum and Brown passing the baton offensively. 

Boston also helped matters by displaying superior ball security, coming alive after five early turnovers helped Houston to its 28-20 lead.

Tatum scored 12 points in the first quarter and ignited an 18-6 Boston run that closed the frame. The Celtics shot 61.9 percent in the period, including 5 of 8 on 3-pointers, to erase the deficit. Brown took control in the second with 16 points, including a 3 with 6:26 left that built the lead to 54-36.

The Rockets, meanwhile, opened the period missing 10 of 11 shots. The Celtics' lead ballooned to 66-53 by the intermission with Brown scoring 21 points before the break while the Boston bench contributed 25 points. The Celtics managed a 34-18 advantage on the glass and held the Rockets, who extended their losing skid to 16 games, to 7-of-25 3-point shooting in the first half.

Victor Oladipo had 26 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Rockets while Kenyon Martin Jr. added 21 points and four rebounds off the Houston bench. Kevin Porter Jr. cooled considerably after a hot start and finished with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting plus seven assists.

With a loss on Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks, the Rockets would match the franchise record of 17 consecutive losses set during their inaugural season in San Diego in 1967-68.

The Celtics' dominance extended beyond Brown and Tatum. Kemba Walker scored 11 points over the first two minutes of the third quarter to help Boston extend its lead to 79-57. Tristan Thompson grabbed 13 rebounds. Robert Williams totaled 16 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks off the bench as the Celtics' reserves scored 63 points.

-reuters