Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way for the Bucks with a game-high 39 points and 16 rebounds as Milwaukee took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a Game 4 win. The Milwaukee Bucks came into Boston and have beaten the Celtics twice in convincing fashion to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished Game 4 with 39 points and 16 rebounds on 68% shooting from the field. George Hill came off the bench and made an impact for the second game in a row with 15 points and five assists in the win. Kyrie Irving finished with a team-high 23 points, 10 assists and six rebounds but shot poorly from the field for the third straight game. Here are three takeaways from the Bucks Game 4 win: Poor Celtics 3-point shooting The Celtics didn't depend on the 3-point shot this season but it was a good barometer as to how they were playing. They finished the season shooting 36.5% from 3-point range, good for seventh in the league. In wins, they shot 39% from long range. Coming into Game 4, Boston led the playoffs at 40% from three and they had been shooting the long ball at a high clip in the second round so far against the Bucks. However, the triple wasn't falling for the Celtics in Game 4, finishing the game shooting a dismal 20.6%. Boston shot under 25% from the perimeter six times this season, all of them were loses. Again, the Celtics aren't depended on the three but it's hard to overcome a bad shooting night from the floor, especially one as bad as Boston had in Game 4. Bucks' Paint Points The Celtics did an incredible job of keeping Giannis and the Bucks out of the paint in Game 1. Since then, they've been unable to stop Milwaukee from pounding them inside. The Bucks outscored the Celtics 52-24 in the paint in Game 3 - in Game 4 it was 54-40 Milwaukee. No one scored more in the paint this season than Giannis Antetokounmpo at 17.5 points per game, and he did it efficiently at 74%. Boston was in the top five in paint defence, only allowing 37.1 points per game in the restricted area. So far the Bucks have imposed their will on Boston since Game 1. The Celtics have no choice now, they have to show more fight and protect their rim or this series is over. Kyrie Irving 4-for-18, 8-for-22, 7-for-22 - those are the shooting numbers for Kyrie Irving in his last three games. A quick glance at his stat line would leave you to believe Irving is doing enough to give the Celtics a chance to win, but the reality is he isn't. https://images.daznservices.com/di/library/NBA_Global_CMS_image_storage/83/76/kyrie-shooting_1o6rwtal7n80r17h10hb7rw3jz.png?t=-1878878598&w=500 It's not just about the lack of efficiency, which can't be understated from a superstar the calibre of Irving, but his lack of impact can't be overstated. In Game 4, the Celtics were desperate for someone to put the team on their back and put them in a position to win - that person should be Irving, but when the time came to show up for his team, he failed to rise to the occasion. Game 5 and every game from here on out is do-or-die for the Celtics. The only saving grace for Boston fans is this: Kyrie Irving has been in this position before, down 3-1 in a series with much higher stakes and was able to pull off the comeback.<doc-sep>It’s time for Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks. The two teams square off on TNT at 4:00 p.m. PT. Boston will be looking to tie the series up at home, while Milwaukee is hoping to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Celtics are getting some reinforcements back, as guard Marcus Smart is returning to the team. Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has been cleared to play in Game 4 against Milwaukee. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 6, 2019 Smart was a huge part of the Celtics success this year, though it remains to be seen how much of an impact he’ll have on this game. Due to an oblique tear, Smart hasn’t played since April 7. It will be interesting to see how many minutes Brad Stevens gives him. The winner of this series will make it the Eastern Conference Finals, and then be one step away from the NBA Finals, and a potential dance with the Golden State Warriors. It should be a great game to serve as an appetizer before the Warriors and the Houston Rockets.<doc-sep>The Milwaukee Bucks are feeling pretty good about themselves right about now. After dropping Game 1 at home in disheartening fashion, the Bucks have run off three convincing victories over the Boston Celtics in their second-round series. Despite the Celtics hounding them on defense in the first half, coupled with the energy generated by Marcus Smart's first game in the playoffs, Milwaukee defeated Boston 113-101 in Game 4 on Monday night to take a 3-1 lead. While the Bucks will have the opportunity to close out the Celtics in Game 5 at Fiserv Forum on Wednesday night, Boston will have even more bulletin board material to feed off following Giannis Antetokounmpo's response to a question from a reporter regarding Smart's impact in his return. While the idea of Smart's return was a nice storyline entering the game, it's safe to say that his impact was minimal -- in generous terms. The Celtics shooting guard scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field -- all 3-pointers -- and he registered the second-worst plus/minus rating on the team with his -13 rating for the game. That all happened in just a mere 15 minutes played off of the bench. It was probably a wise thing that Antetokounmpo didn't answer the question because there wouldn't have been anything positive to say. But the fact that he didn't say anything and just merely looked at the box score sheet says all you need to know about Smart's actual impact on the game. With the Celtics facing potentially their last game of the season on Wednesday night, the always motivated Smart will be looking to redeem himself as he looks to help his team fend off elimination.<doc-sep>
Giannis Antetokounmpo was tremendous on Monday night, leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a 113-101 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 4 of their second-round series. Finishing with 39 points, 16 rebounds and four assists, the Greek Freak has the Bucks up 3-1 in the series and just one win away from the franchise's first trip to the Eastern Conference finals since 2001. More than that, though, the Bucks have a chance to go to the Finals for the first time since 1974, when they were led there by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It's fitting, then, that Giannis' performance in Game 4 was reminiscent of the Hall of Famer. With his 39 points and 16 boards, Giannis became the first Bucks player to record at least 35 points and 15 rebounds in a playoff game since Abdul-Jabbar. After struggling with the Celtics' defense in Game 1, Giannis had no such trouble on Monday night, as he got to the rim at will. He finished 12 of 14 in the restricted area, using his perfect blend of strength and athleticism to break the Celtics' will. Even when they had multiple defenders in place, there was simply nothing they could do to slow down the potential MVP on this night. His spinning dunk in transition to put the Bucks up by 12 with just over four minutes to play was spectacular, and pretty much sealed the Bucks' victory. A few minutes later, with the game already decided, he put an exclamation point on the performance by cruising down the lane and extending his lanky arm for an emphatic and-one slam.