Heading into NBA’s Eastern Conference action on Tuesday, there was an intriguing game on the schedule. The top two teams in the East were facing each other as the 39-17 Milwaukee Bucks hosted the 41-16 Boston Celtics.
This game did not disappoint one bit. The Celtics and Bucks were all tied up at 116 points each after 48 minutes, before Milwaukee defeated Boston 131-125.
In an interesting statistic, it was not Giannis Antetokounmpo who led the Bucks in scoring. The Bucks leading scorer on this night was point guard Jrue Holiday of Chatsworth, California, who scored a game-high 40 points. The 40 points actually tied a career-high for Holiday, as he initially achieved the mark for the Bucks in a 116-112 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on December 17, 2021.
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Antetokounmpo of Athens, Greece, and Khris Middleton of Charleston, South Carolina each had double-doubles for the Bucks. Antetokounmpo had 36 points and 13 rebounds, while Middleton had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Grayson Allen of Jacksonville, Florida also reached double digits in points as he had 13 points.
The Bucks and the Celtics were expected to be the top two teams in the East and they simply have not disappointed. This was the second time Boston has played Milwaukee this season. The first game was on Christmas Day–a contest the Celtics won rather handily 139-118. Celtics forward Jayson Tatum of St. Louis, Missouri had the most points on Christmas, with 41, one more point than Holliday scored on Tuesday.
It should be noted I was higher on the Bucks than the Celtics to begin the year. Joel Beatton meanwhile favoured Boston.
