Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists before he left the game with a leg injury and the Milwaukee Bucks ended a four-game losing streak by defeating the visiting Boston Celtics 104-91 on Tuesday.
Antetokounmpo fell to the floor and grabbed his left calf with 3:37 remaining in the third quarter. He walked to the locker room and did not return to the game. The Bucks called the injury a soleus strain.
Boston, playing its final road game, saw its five-game winning streak end. The Celtics (62-17) will wrap up the regular season with home games against New York, Charlotte and Washington.
Patrick Beverley led the Bucks with 20 points, and he grabbed 10 rebounds. Milwaukee received 15 points from both Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis, with Portis grabbing 10 rebounds.
Milwaukee (48-31) is battling Orlando, New York and Cleveland for the No. 2 seed — behind Boston — in the Eastern Conference. The victory allowed the Bucks to remain in sole possession of second place with three games to play.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 22 points. Jaylen Brown added 14 points and 10 boards, and Jrue Holiday finished with 12 points.
The Celtics’ frontcourt was thin, as Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) and Al Horford (toe) were sidelined.
Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton was in the starting lineup and finished with 12 points, nine assists and six rebounds in 33 minutes. Middleton left the Bucks’ Sunday loss to New York in the second quarter with a mouth injury and didn’t return.
Milwaukee led 37-21 after one quarter, 63-43 at halftime and 78-67 at the end of three quarters. The Bucks shot 73.7 percent overall in the first quarter (14 of 19), when they made eight of their 10 3-point attempts.
Boston outscored Milwaukee 24-15 in the third and ended the quarter on a 14-5 run to pull within 11, but the Celtics never got closer than 11 in the fourth.
The Celtics didn’t attempt a free throw in the game. The Bucks were 1-for-2 from the foul line.
–Field Level Media
