The Boston Celtics got a hard-fought 113-107 victory in the opening game of the first round series with the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday, April 15. The Warriors covered the spread at -3.5, while the game comfortably went over the total of 200.5 points.
Game Recap
The Celtics dominated in the first quarter and won in 29-17, but the Bucks responded in the second period, allowing just four points in the opening eight minutes, but Boston somehow scored 15 points in opposite to the Bucks’ 30. The last few seconds of the regulation tilt were extremely interesting as first Terry Rozier scored a triple to give the Celtics a 3-point lead with just 0.5 seconds remaining, but when everybody expected that was it, Khris Middleton made a three from near midcourt to send the game to overtime. Boston defended well in overtime and deservedly took a 1-0 lead in the series.
Boston shot 41.5% from the floor and hit 11 out of 26 attempts from downtown (42.3%), and made 24 out of 27 shots from the free-throw line (88.9%), while they committed 15 turnovers in opposite to Milwaukee’s 20.
Al Horford led the Celtics with a double-double of 24 points and 12 rebounds with four dimes, three blocks, and two steals; Rozier added 23 points, four boards, and three assists, while Jaylen Brown chipped in with 20 points. Jayson Tatum had an excellent display with a double-double of 19 points and ten rebounds, while Marcus Morris 21 points with seven boards off the bench. On the other hand, Giannis Antetokounmpo had a monster game with a double-double of 35 points and 13 rebounds along with seven assists and three thefts; Middleton followed him with 31 points, eight boards, six dishes, and a couple of steals, while Malcolm Brogdon scored 16 points off the bench.
Boston’s odds to win the NBA championship can be found at BetDSI and they are pegging the Celtics at +8000, which means that Brad Stevens’ men are not among the most serious contenders to lift the NBA title this year. They are +2200 to win the Eastern Conference as three teams have better chances ahead of them.Milwaukee is +10000 to win the NBA title, while the Bucks are +5000 to clinch the Eastern Conference.
