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Jayson Tatum chipped in with 23 points and Jaylen Brown 19 for
the second-seeded Celtics, who will advance to face the
top-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Finals. Game 1 is scheduled
for Tuesday in Miami.
The Celtics will be making their fourth trip to the Eastern
Finals in the last six seasons. They have not advanced to an NBA
Finals since 2010, having lost four consecutive times when one
step away, twice to the Heat and twice to the Cleveland
Cavaliers.
After losing twice at home earlier in the series and falling
behind 10-3 in the best-of-seven finale, the Celtics dominated
the final 44 minutes, especially from long range.
Williams, a third-year pro who had never scored more than 21
points in his NBA career and never made more than six
3-pointers, stunned the Bucks with 7-for-18 accuracy from beyond
the arc, accounting for all but six of his points.
"I told him to 'Let it fly. They're disrespecting you more
tonight than earlier in the series,'" Celtics coach Ime Udoka
said of his message to Williams. "That was the plan for him and
other guys."
Tatum added five 3-pointers and Payton Pritchard four as the
Celtics shot 22-for-55 on 3-point tries, outscoring the Bucks by
a whopping 66-12 from beyond the arc.
With Jrue Holiday and Pat Connaughton combining for 0-for-11,
Milwaukee went just 4-for-33 from deep.
After a last-second foul on Antetokounmpo on a Marcus Smart
3-point heave from beyond half court had helped the Celtics
build a 48-43 halftime lead, the hosts gradually pulled away
throughout the second half.
Williams, Tatum and Brown all hit 3-pointers in an early burst
in the third period that opened a 59-47 lead, and Milwaukee was
never closer than 10 after that.
"They were the better team in a seven-game series," Bucks coach
Mike Budenholzer said of Boston.
Pritchard finished with 14 points and Smart 11 for the Celtics,
who stayed alive with a 108-95 win at Milwaukee in Game 6 on
Friday.
Smart completed a double-double with a game-high 10 assists,
while Al Horford was the Celtics' top rebounder with 10 to go
with six points and six assists.
Antetokounmpo, who had averaged 35.3 points on 46.8-percent
shooting in the first six games of the series, was harassed into
10-for-26 shooting and limited to a team-high 25 points.
"I felt like we started grinding him down," Udoka said of the
two-time league MVP. "He missed some of the easier shots around
the basket. That's what we talked about. It's not just one guy
(guarding him). We stuck with that."
Antetokounmpo also found time for a game-high 20 rebounds and
team-high nine assists.
Holiday finished with 21 points and Bobby Portis 10 for the
Bucks, while Brook Lopez logged a double-double with 15 points
and 10 rebounds.
The Bucks played the series without three-time All-Star Khris
Middleton, who sprained the MCL in his left knee during Game 2
of the first-round series against the Chicago Bulls.
"Every team goes through something. Nobody feels sorry for us,"
Budenholzer said. "It's the age-old equation: You've got to have
good players; you've got to be a little lucky; and you've got to
be healthy. You need all of these things to be successful in the
playoffs. I've heard it a million times. We weren't as healthy
as we could have been, but nobody cares."
--Field Level Media
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