Jayson Tatum Buzzer-Beater Gives Celtics Win vs. Bucks; Giannis Misses Tying FT

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press

The Boston Celtics wasted no time notching an incredible result in the 2020-21 season.

Jayson Tatum banked home a three-pointer over the outstretched arms of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the final second to give last season’s Eastern Conference runner-up a dramatic 122-121 victory in Wednesday’s potential playoff preview at TD Garden. Even with that shot, Antetokounmpo had a chance to force overtime for the Milwaukee Bucks with two free throws with 0.4 seconds remaining just to leave one short.

Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way for the victors, who were without Kemba Walker and held off a late charge from the Bucks.

Milwaukee, which is aiming to finish with the best record in the NBA for the third consecutive season, overcame a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter just to watch Tatum win it during a frantic finish.

Notable Player Stats

Giannis’ Final Push Comes Up Short

The Bucks had quite the busy offseason, as they locked up Antetokounmpo on a supermax, brought in Jrue Holiday and lost a draft pick after a failed sign-and-trade for Bogdan Bogdanovic.

While they moved Eric Bledsoe and George Hill in the Holiday trade and were unable to add Bogdanovic, this remains one of the best rosters in the NBA. Giannis is the two-time reigning MVP, Khris Middleton is an All-Star second option and Holiday is a veteran leader who can anchor the perimeter defense and either score or set up his teammates on the other end.

Even with Donte DiVincenzo scoring in the early going, Middleton stuffing the stat sheet as he battled for rebounds in small-ball lineups and Holiday finding holes in the lane, the Bucks were still down 17 going into the fourth quarter because of poor play from their leader.

Much like the Toronto Raptors and Miami Heat did in the last two playoffs, Boston swarmed Antetokounmpo with multiple defenders when he barreled his way into the lane. Marcus Smart in particular was a problem for the MVP with his ability to reach in, create turnovers and draw offensive fouls.

The result was seven turnovers for Antetokounmpo, but that didn’t stop him from going into takeover mode in the fourth quarter.

He powered his way through those additional defenders, dished his way out of double-teams and hit multiple threes when the Celtics backed off. His mid-range jumper gave Milwaukee the lead with less than four minutes remaining and set up the back-and-forth finish that included a Holiday triple to go up heading into the last minute.

Despite the incredible individual effort, Giannis’ performance will still largely be defined by his missed free throw at the end. At least the Bucks can take solace in knowing their MVP can still take over a game against a fellow Eastern Conference contender even if he couldn’t convert on his final shot.

Brown and Tatum Save Celtics from Collapse

It didn’t take long for the Celtics to face adversity with Kemba Walker sidelined with injury, which put the pressure firmly on the shoulders of the one-two punch of Tatum and Brown.

Yet new Boston point guard Jeff Teague, who figures to be a major part of the game plan as long as Walker is out, made the biggest mark in the early going by darting through the lane, hitting from the outside, creating turnovers and finding open teammates.

His impressive play continued into the third quarter with back-to-back threes, while Tatum found his stroke after a slow start and Brown continued to smoothly slice through Milwaukee’s defense.

Tristan Thompson and Daniel Theis also provided physicality down low, and it appeared as if the Celtics would cruise to an easy victory when Tatum drained a three-pointer over Giannis at the end of the third quarter.

Boston played those opening three quarters with notable pace and took advantage of the open looks its defense created by forcing so many turnovers. Brown was also the best player on the floor for extended stretches and seemed to glide into openings as his team was in firm control.

And then the fourth quarter happened.

The shots that fell when the Celtics scored more than 30 points in each of the first three quarters started rimming out, Giannis started playing like an MVP and their commanding lead disappeared in a matter of minutes.

Fortunately for Boston, Tatum hit a pull-up jumper, a mid-range look and his final three-pointer in the last three minutes, while Brown hit a key layup in the lane to pull even. The one-two punch is among the best in the league and survived quite the haymaker from the NBA’s reigning MVP.

What’s Next? 

Both teams are home Friday when the Bucks tip off against the Golden State Warriors at 2:30 p.m. ET and the Celtics play the Brooklyn Nets at 5.