Giannis Antetokounmpo posts double-double as Bucks beat Celtics in NBA restart

Antetokounmpo made the free throw to make it 110-107. Khris Middleton then knocked down a 3-pointer for a six-point advantage.

Middleton added 18 points for the Bucks, who played without Eric Bledsoe and Pat Connaughton while they work on their conditioning after testing positive for the coronavirus. Marvin Williams sat out with a strained left groin.

Smart scored 23 points for the Celtics and Jaylen Brown had 22, but star forward Jayson Tatum had a nightmarish restart. He had five points on 2-for-18 shooting — though he actually only made one basket.

Kemba Walker scored 16 points but played just 19 minutes as the Celtics look to keep the All-Star guard healthy after he’s been battling a sore knee.

Milwaukee had lost its final three games before the season was suspended in March but came back looking like the team that otherwise overpowered opponents all season. The Bucks broke to a 17-2 lead and should have been pitching a shutout. The lone Boston basket came when Antetokounmpo and Wesley Matthews tipped in Walker’s missed 3-pointer. Tatum was given credit for the basket as the closest Celtics player.

“I thought we had a great mindset coming out in the first five minutes,” Bucks center Brook Lopez said.

Tip-ins

Bucks: Lopez had six blocked shots. … Coach Mike Budenholzer said he believed Williams’ injury wasn’t serious and hoped the forward could be available soon. He thinks Williams was hurt during the second scrimmage and felt sore the next morning.