The opening of the Wednesday night season between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks was a possible preview of the Eastern Conference finals, and if we get close to this type of playoff confrontation, we will have a surprise. Thanks to some heroic acts by Jayson Tatum, the Celtics escaped with a 122-121 victory in a thriller that dropped to the tenth of a second.
Up to 17 in the second half, the Celtics saw their advantage slowly evaporate and, with less than 10 seconds to go, they lost by two. They did have the ball, however, which meant there was still a chance – especially with Tatum in the building. The rising star gave the pass on the pitch, assessed the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and tried to go to work.
In fact, he was going through a difficult period at first, getting between his legs and hesitating in vain. Eventually, he had no choice but to hoist a step-back 3, which seemed very wrong when he left his hands. Fortunately for Tatum and the Celtics, the result was so far that he took the glass and fell straight over the edge to give the Celtics the lead 0.4 seconds from the end.
He ended up being the winner of the game, although only after a dramatic streak at the other end. Giannis was fouled when the Bucks tried to shoot him in, which sent him to the line for two free throws. He did the first, but lost the second, which would have tied the game.
The free throw failed on the clutch is what everyone will talk about, and for good reason. These are the opportunities you have to convert when you are the back-to-back MVP and just signed up for a supermax extension. But at the same time, Bucks only got a chance because of Giannis’ previous work in the fourth period. He scored 18 of his 35 points the night of the final game to get his team back in the game.
In the end it was not enough, as Tatum and the Celtics got the big win to start the season 1-0. Tatum started out a little slow, but heated up in the second half to finish with 30 points and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown went for 33 points, five rebounds and four assists.