Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – The Milwaukee Bucks erased a 19-point deficit, pulling away late to beat the Indiana Pacers 120-112 on Tuesday as the NBA champion Boston Celtics closed out 2024 with a 125-71 demolition of the Toronto Raptors. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, back after missing three games because of an illness, found his rhythm after scoring just four points in the first half, finishing with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Brook Lopez added 16 points and reserves Bobby Portis Jr. and Gary Trent Jr. scored 14 points each for Milwaukee, who trailed 83-64 midway through the third quarter.
Damian Lillard scored just nine points but put the Bucks ahead for good with a three-pointer that made it 107-104 with 5:17 remaining. Antetokounmpo found Portis for a layup and Trent produced a pair of three-pointers as the Bucks pulled away.
There was no late drama in Boston, where the Celtics won by the second-largest margin of victory in franchise history behind a 56-point triumph at Chicago in December of 2018. Jayson Tatum scored 18 of his 23 points in the third quarter, when the Celtics out-scored the Raptors 45-18 to effectively put the game out of reach. Payton Pritchard scored 19 points off the bench as seven Celtics players scored in double figures.
Derrick White scored 16 points and blocked four shots. Jrue Holiday, back after missing three games with a shoulder injury, added 14 points and three steals. Jaylen Brown had 12 points and nine rebounds as the Celtics closed out the year on a strong note after dropping four of their last six games. The Celtics connected on 22 of their 43 three-point attempts and made 54 percent of their shots overall as they handed the Raptors an 11th straight defeat.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said the big win was just part of the process as the Celtics try to repeat as champions. “I think the best thing about the team is just their mindset to have an understanding of where we’re at and where we’re trying to get better win or lose,” he said. “There’s still stuff that we’ve got to work on… we’ve just got to continue to be better.”
© 2024 AFP
