After leading most of the first half, a late Milwaukee Bucks run put them on top of the Boston Celtics, 58-56, midway through Thursday night’s game.
Boston led the entire game until there was just a minute and three seconds left on the clock in the first half. At that point, the Bucks took over the lead after an eight point run. A Kevin Garnett jump shot tied the game a few seconds later, but the Bucks’ Mike Dunleavy had a layup with 28 seconds left to secure the lead going into the half.
Boston played composed and aggressively through most of the game, but became increasingly unhinged in the second quarter. The Celtics spent the first quarter able to get through to the basket, but the Bucks defense forced them further out as they got further settled in the game. The Celtics’ defense struggled covering several Bucks players who came off the bench, like Dunleavy.
Paul Pierce leads all Celtics players through the first half with 11 points. Carlos Delfino and Ersan Ilyasova both lead the Bucks with 12 points each.