Celtics cruise to easy Game 7 win against Bucks

Terry Rozier got the last laugh in this series. After going up 2-0 against the Bucks, Eric Bledsoe claimed he did not know who Rozier was. It was an interesting comment to make after Rozier and the Celtics had cooked the Bucks at home for two days.

But then the Bucks fought back and pushed this series to seven games.

In Game 7, it was all Terry Rozier. He finished the night with 26 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and five three-pointers. He was extremely instrumental in the Celtics fourth quarter run, at one point scoring ten straight points for Boston.

The Celtics played this game even more shorthanded than normal after Jaylen Brown suffered a hamstring issue in the first half. It could have spelled trouble for a team that has already suffered so many injuries, but it did not. Not one bit.

Now we’ll head to Round 2 where the Celtics will matchup with their old rival in the Philadelphia 76ers. Bring on the basketball.

---

Celtics 112, Bucks 96 - Final

A great run for Milwaukee to force a Game 7 but they’ll come up short as the Boston gets the win at home to end the first round series.

Celtics 101, Bucks 82 - 5:17 4Q

TERRY ROZIER HAVE YOURSELF A NIGHT. He has 24 points tonight and 10 points in this quarter alone. He also just hit back to back three-pointers to balloon this lead 19 with just five minutes to go.

Celtics 95, Bucks 80 - 6:16 4Q

Jaylen Brown has not entered the second half yet due to his hamstring injury but it has not slowed down the Celtics one bit. Jayson Tatum and Terry Rozier each have 18 points, fueling this injury ridden Celtics to a potential Game 7 win.

The Bucks have six minutes left to save their season.

Celtics 81, Bucks 67 - End of 3Q

The Celtics went on an 11-2 run near the end of the third quarter to build out the lead, led by this beautiful sequence from Jayson Tatum.

Celtics 65, Bucks 55 - 6:09 3Q

The Bucks got within three but the Celtics went on another run, mostly in part to Al Horford who now has 24 points halfway through the third.

Celtics 50, Bucks 42 - Halftime

An interesting stat from the first half: The Celtics went 1-of-12 from the three-point line and still lead by eight points going into the half.

Al Horford leads the way for Boston with 14 points and seven rebounds while Eric Bledsoe leads the way with 12 for the Bucks.

Jaylen Brown left the second quarter with an apparent right hamstring issue. His status is unknown.

Celtics 41, Bucks 30 - 6:09 2Q

Three Bucks turnovers in the last minute leads to an 9-0 run from the Celtics. Giannis just also picked up his third foul in the first half. He’ll have to go to the bench now for the remainder of the first half. Bledsoe who was hot early, also has three fouls.

Celtics 32, Bucks 30 - 8:47 2Q

After the Bledsoe chants from Boston fans, the guy went into overdrive. He’s now up to 12 points and this is a game again.

Celtics 30, Bucks 17 - End of 1Q

The Celtics are on a 15-0 run and Boston fans are chanting “Who is Bledsoe?”.

Celtics 17, Bucks 15 - 3:23 1Q

Five straight points for Jayson Tatum and here come the Celtics. The Bucks have not made a field goal since the 6:43 mark.

Bucks 13, Celtics 10 - 6:36 1Q

Starting Game 7 with an alley-oop? Okay. We’ll take it.

---

The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks will decide their first-round NBA playoff series on Saturday night with Game 7 at TD Garden in Boston (8 p.m. ET, TNT), for the right to play the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.

This is the third time Boston and Milwaukee will play a Game 7 in their history, and the first time since the second round in 1987. These two teams also met in the 1974 NBA Finals, one of the classic series in league history. Both previous series were won by the Celtics.

Milwaukee stayed alive on Thursday night with an 11-point win at home, behind 31 points and 14 rebounds from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is averaging 26.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 6.5 assists in this series.

“At the end, it was (all) about will,” Antetokounmpo told the Associated Press on Thursday. “I was out there, I was trying to make plays, I was trying to be aggressive.”

The home teams are undefeated this series, giving Boston the advantage for Saturday’s Game 7. The Celtics were 27-14 at home during the regular season.

Celtics vs. Bucks Game 7 info

Location: TD Garden, Boston

Game time: 8 p.m. ET

TV: TNT

Announcers: Brian Anderson, Kevin McHale, Ros Gold-Onwude

Online streaming: Watch TNT