By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Boston Celtics showed they still have enough gas to contain the surging Giannis Antetokounmpo and the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks after dethroning them in Game 7 of their Eastern conference clash, 109-81, while the Dallas Mavericks put on a stunning display of hot-shooting to eliminate the Phoenix Suns, 123-90, to advance to the Western Conference finals.
In a game where people might see the Boston Celtics fold, Jayson Tatum and the gritty Boston Celtics silenced the doubters after taking full control of the whole second-half backstopped by their hot three-point shooting.
It was the Milwaukee Bucks who got the early lead in the first half as Antetokounmpo fed Brook Lopez during mismatches in the post, scoring an early nine points that provided the lift they needed with Khris Middleton still out due to his injury.
Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday did their thing and continued to attack the rim that rewarded them with easy deuces that forced Boston head coach Ime Udoka to call for a timeout.
After the timeout, the complexion of the game entirely changed midway through the second quarter as the Celtics came out waxing hot with their offense.
Known as a pure defender and tasked to stop Antetokounmpo, Grant Williams this time showed his skill on offense and destroyed the Bucks with his outside shooting and finished the game with 27 huge points, six rebounds, two blocks, and seven made treys.
Boston then regained the lead in the third quarter and immediately turned the game into a one-sided affair as the duo of Tatum and Jaylen Brown closed the show with their offensive barrage.
Tatum contributed 23 points, six rebounds, and eight assists while Brown had 19 points, eight rebounds, and two steals in the win.
Milwaukee didn’t win a single quarter in the second half and was outscored 61-38 due to Boston’s tight perimeter defense and quick switches that didn’t allow any free lane for Antetokounmpo.
Despite the loss, the young champion from Greece still made NBA history after becoming the first player to generate 200 points, 100 rebounds, and 50 assists in one playoff series.
Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the underdog Dallas Mavericks knocked the Phoenix Suns out of the postseason with a shockingly wide margin of victory.
Since the first quarter, Phoenix fans were completely stunned after Dallas immediately jumped to a double-digit lead led by Luka Doncic who came out firing from all cylinders despite the excellent defense Jae Crowder and Mikal Bridges threw at him.
In a game of picking your poison, the Suns and head coach Monty Williams faced disaster when they decided not to double Doncic and relied heavily on his man-to-man schemes.
Aside from Doncic’s offensive eruption, Spencer Dinwiddie also balled out and killed the Suns with his three-point shooting, draining five of his seven total attempts and abused the matchup he got against the Phoenix big men every time they switched.
Dinwiddie finished the ball game with 30 huge points while Doncic became the game’s top-leading scorer with 35 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
It was a disappointing night for the Suns’ big three as Chris Paul, Devin Booker, and Deandre Ayton combined to shoot only 9/27 from the field.
Booker, who vowed to bounce back from a horrible Game 6 performance in Dallas, shot the ball worse and started the game 0/7 and only scored from his free throws.
The Suns trailed by as much as 46 points at one point, the largest deficit in a Game 7 over the last 25 years in the NBA playoffs.
With the huge upset win, the Mavericks will be marching to the NBA Western Conference finals for the first time since 2011 and will face former NBA champions Golden State Warriors.
