CELTICS FINISH OFF SEASON SWEEP OF BUCKS AS RIVALRY RENEWED

Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

BOSTON -- For a third straight time this season, the Milwaukee Bucks found themselves in a competitive game with the Boston Celtics.

And, for a third straight time, it was the defending champions who made enough plays down the stretch, this time for a 111-105 victory in front of a raucous sellout crowd at TD Garden that completed a 3-0 sweep of the season series.

"We take that right now we're in the game with them, but we haven't beaten them and we do believe we have a big stretch that we're going to get better," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "We're going to get a lot better, and they will too a little bit, but we will a lot.

"So, yeah, we hope to play them again in the playoffs in the late rounds, and we'll see how it goes. But right now they're the champs, and until someone beats them, they're the champs."

It would have been easy to mistake this game for one in April or May. There was great intensity on the court and in the stands, and the officials allowed physicality throughout. Despite that, the teams combined for 15 turnovers, and the stars on both sides -- Jayson Tatum (34 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists) and Jaylen Brown (25 points) for Boston, and Giannis Antetokounmpo (30 points and 11 rebounds) and Damian Lillard (31 points) for Milwaukee -- all made massive contributions.

The Celtics didn't have Kristaps Porzingis (injury management ahead of a game Saturday here against the Memphis Grizzlies), and Derrick White (1-for-10, 0-for-8 from 3) and Payton Pritchard (scoreless in 24 minutes) had arguably their worst games of the season. Boston also didn't get a single second-chance point (11-0 in favor of Milwaukee).

But it still wasn't enough to tip the scale in the Bucks' favor.

"It wasn't a playoff game, but it was a special night," Tatum said. "This is my eighth year, and these nights where you're playing a team that's really good with some special players, and the crowd is really involved, and guys are making plays and feeding off the energy of your teammates and of the crowd and the fans, the amount of times that we've won games in moments like that.

"It's just another special night at TD Garden that I've been a part of."

If there was any doubt about the night's intensity, it was on display in the third quarter, when Al Horford's wife, Amelia, got up from her front-row seat and exhorted the crowd to cheer louder when Antetokounmpo was at the foul line.

"Yes, no question," Horford immediately said, when asked if it feels different to play the Bucks. "There are certain teams that it just does, and we've been since JT's rookie year, we went to seven against those guys.

"Year after year, both teams have had a lot of success in the East, and it is different, every time we play them, and that's just the reality."

During large portions of Friday's game, it looked as if the Bucks finally might have the upper hand. Boston struggled to get going offensively from deep, missing 15 consecutive 3-pointers from late in the first quarter to early in the third. And Antetokounmpo repeatedly battered his way to the rim, shedding defenders left and right, while Lillard -- despite not getting a few continuation calls he would've wanted -- still had success attacking Boston's defense.

And yet, with 90 seconds to go, Antetokounmpo found himself on the left wing and, when Horford backed off him, decided to step into his first 3-point try of the night. But he missed, and a quick Horford response at the other end gave Boston a four-point lead it never relinquished.

"Coming down, I saw Al Horford backing up," Antetokounmpo said. "I felt like I could make it. Shot it. Went well, in my opinion. S---, if I had the chance to shoot it again, I'd shoot it again. I've made it multiple times, so I'd shoot it again."

Perhaps that chance will come in the playoffs, the next time these teams could meet. The Bucks were 2-8 when they lost to the Celtics in Milwaukee a few weeks ago but have since clawed their way back to .500 by winning nine of the 11 intervening games.

Now, the question is how much more they can continue to improve between now and a potential rematch.

"I'm not going to talk about moral victories and everything, but they're a great team," said Bucks forward Khris Middleton, who came off the bench and had 11 points on 2-for-10 shooting in 23 minutes in his season debut. "We want to get back to where they were last year, and they're trying to get back to where they were last year, also. So it's just about putting our best foot before and trying to be the best team. I'm not worried about anything else, really."

- Tim Bontemps, ESPN

LOWE: HERE'S THE CODE THE BOSTON CELTICS FINALLY CRACKED TO RAISE BANNER NO. 18

 THE GOOD NEWS for those who don't quite know how to contextualize these Boston Celtics after a dominant-by-any-measure championship season: they will return more or less intact to make another run at it next season, with a chance to cement their place as one of the great teams of the modern era.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are 26 and 27, respectively. Tatum has made first-team All-NBA three straight seasons. Brown made third-team last season and barely missed this season. His steely postseason, crowned with Finals MVP, indicates he might have another level to hit. Boston might not have a traditional MVP centerpiece -- Tatum finished sixth this season and has never finished above fourth in voting -- but if Brown's ascent continues, they could boast two of the top-10 or 12 players over the next few seasons. Tatum might not have hit his ceiling either.

The core players around them, the threads connecting the Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens regimes, are all under contract for next season and in some cases beyond. Only Al Horford, the stalwart whose reacquisition marked the first salvo of the Stevens era, is old in NBA terms. There are what should be smooth extension talks coming for Tatum and Derrick White, and perhaps trickier ones surrounding Sam Hauser and Kristaps Porzingis (later in Porzingis' case). The team will get ultra-expensive. The second apron hems you in. But you live to get a team like this. You pay for it, and figure out the rest later.

The NBA has not had a repeat champion since the Warriors in 2018. Even the Denver Nuggets, with the world's best player, seemed to publicly downplay the importance of repeating -- focusing instead on winning multiple titles over the next decade in San Antonio Spurs-esque fashion.

Boston should take the opposite approach. Chase the repeat. State it as your goal. Break the no-repeat stretch, and your historical standing becomes beyond dispute. If the Celtics stay healthy, they will have everything they need. They should enter next season as favorites.

CELTICS ROUT MAVERICKS 107-89 IN GAME 1 OF NBA FINALS BEHIND BROWN L, FEATURING PORZINGIS

Porzingis. AP Photo 

 BOSTON (AP) — Kristaps Porzingis didn’t want to make predictions about how his body would respond heading into the NBA Finals after he spent more than a month on the sideline with a calf injury.

Just fine, it turned out.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points, Porzingis made an immediate impact off the bench and added 20 and the Boston Celtics powered past the Dallas Mavericks 107-89 on Thursday night in Game 1.

Derrick White finished with 15 points for Boston, which led by 29 points in the first half and connected on 16 3-pointers in a powerful start to its quest for an 18th NBA title.

Porzingis, a 7-footer who had been sidelined since April 29, added six rebounds and three blocks in 21 minutes.

“Tonight was affirmation to myself that I’m pretty good,” Porzingis said. "I’m not perfect but I can play like this and I can add to this team.”

The last Celtics player to enter the court for pregame warmups, he said he received a jolt of energy from a home crowd, which erupted when he emerged from the tunnel.

“The adrenaline was pumping through my veins," Porzingis said.

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla wasn't concerned about the layoff affecting Porzingis' aggressiveness.

“That’s the KP that helped us get to where we are today,” Mazzulla said. “It doesn’t matter how long the guy is off, he’s going to make plays.”

All-Star Jayson Tatum finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Six players scored in double figures for the Celtics, who host Game 2 on Sunday.

“Getting back to this point and being here is really a big deal,” Tatum said. “But two years ago we won the first game and we know the outcome of that series. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Dallas cut the deficit to eight points in the third quarter, but Boston answered with a 14-0 run to quickly pull away again.

“That's when the game started,” Brown said.

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 30 points. P.J. Washington added 14 points and eight rebounds. But Dallas couldn’t find offensive consistency beyond that, totaling just nine assists on its 35 field goals for the game. The Mavericks didn't score 25 points in any quarter.

Doncic said the lopsided loss wouldn't diminish the spirit of a team that lost the opening game in three of four series this postseason.

“Either you lose or you win,” Doncic said. “First to four, we’ve got to focus on the next game.”

Former Celtic Kyrie Irving struggled throughout, finishing with 12 points. He received a loud and extended chorus of boos Thursday when he was introduced before the game. It continued throughout the game whenever he touched the ball.

The treatment came after Irving sparred with Boston fans and was fined for using an obscene gesture during a 2022 playoff visit to TD Garden.

“I thought it was going to be a little louder in here. I’m expecting the same thing (in Game 2). The crowd’s trying to get me out of my element,” Irving said. “It’s not the first time I’ve lost in Boston. I don’t want to make it a habit.”

The Celtics, seeking their first championship since 2008, showed little rust from their 10-day layoff after sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals.

They flowed with energy throughout, sharing the ball in the halfcourt and getting the ball to shooters for open 3s. They also attacked the interior of the Dallas defense and got to the rim for several dunks.

Meanwhile, apart from Doncic, who shot 12 of 26 from the field, Dallas struggled early to get into its sets and couldn’t find a consistent groove offensively.

The Mavericks led by one midway through the first quarter. The Celtics responded by outscoring them 44-16 to make it 58-29 in the second.

Things changed over the next 12 minutes of game action when Dallas used a 35-14 run, including 15 points by Doncic, to cut Boston’s lead to 72-64. But the Celtics were back up 86-66 entering the fourth.

Dallas had just five assists through the first three quarters, the fewest any NBA team has had through 36 minutes in any game in the last three seasons.

“We’ve got to move the ball,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “The ball got stuck too much.”

Porzingis ended his 10-game hiatus when he came off the bench with 7:17 left in the first quarter in place of starter Al Horford. With the exception of a white compression sleeve on his right leg, it was hard to tell Porzingis was coming off an injury.

He got into the mix quickly, knocking down a pair of free throws after being fouled by Doncic. A possession later, the Latvian connected in his first field goal when he dropped on a short jumper over Doncic.

He wasn’t done.

Minutes later he got loose in the paint for a two-handed dunk over Derrick Lively. On Dallas’ next possession, Porzingis was there to swat away Jaden Hardy’s layup attempt. The Celtics pushed the ball up the court and got the ball back to their big man, who calmly buried a 16-footer.

It was part of a 17-5 surge by Boston over the final 5:24 of the quarter that saw Porzingis go 4 for 5 from the field, score 11 points, block two shots and grab three rebounds. Boston carried a 37-20 lead into the second quarter.

Porzingis finished the half with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting.

- KYLE HIGHTOWER

CELTICS TAKE A 3-1 SERIES LEAD BUT LOSE KRISTAPS PORZINGIS

NBA.com

 MIAMI -- The Boston Celtics took one more step toward eliminating the rival Miami Heat with a convincing 102-88 Game 4 victory Monday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

But the win might have come with a cost, as Kristaps Porzingis, the team's starting center, hobbled off the court with a calf injury just before halftime and didn't return. Porzingis will undergo imaging Tuesday, but early indications are that he didn't sustain an Achilles tendon injury, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Following the game, Porzingis slowly walked out of the visiting locker room area wearing a gray walking boot on his right foot.

Porzingis appeared to tweak something after catching a pass from Jaylen Brown late in the second period. Upon getting the ball, Porzingis started driving toward his left, then grimaced before quickly giving the ball back to Brown and coming up lame in the middle of the play. Porzingis didn't appear to be touched by anyone on the play during which he was hurt.

As he walked to the locker room with a support staffer, Porzingis briefly held his jersey over his face in apparent frustration.

Minutes after he sustained the injury, the Celtics issued an update, saying Porzingis was suffering from right calf tightness. Following the game, Porzingis posted on social media, making note of the team's victory and adding, "Thanks for all the support, will be good" with a biceps emoji at the end of the message.

Celtics players held out hope that Porzingis' injury wasn't serious but also acknowledged that his presence as a floor spacer and rim-protector meant things would change if he is forced to miss time.

"All of us, our mindset has to shift," said veteran center Al Horford, who started the second half in Porzingis' place. "I talked to Luke [Kornet] and Xavier [Tillman], and let them know that all of us have to be ready to step up and do a little more, because KP was playing so well defensively."

Said Jayson Tatum: "We're going to have to play different, but it's a next-man-up mentality for however long [he's out]. Obviously I don't know anything [yet] -- but it's next man up. We just have to find a way to win each game."

The 7-foot-3 Porzingis, who joined the Celtics last offseason via trade with the Washington Wizards, fit his new team almost perfectly, averaging 20 points and seven rebounds per contest on career-best efficiency while giving Boston an even more dangerous five-out offense. But the Celtics, who went 21-4 in the regular season when Porzingis was out, looked just fine Monday in his absence.

Much of that stemmed from the Heat having no answer for Derrick White. The guard caught fire from deep in the first half, in which he shot 6-for-9 from 3, and went on to finish with a career-high 38 points.

"It's unreal. You hit a couple, and then after a while, you feel like you can't miss -- the basket's just huge," said the 6-4 White, who also managed to throw down a pair of uncharacteristic dunks. White's scoring outburst made for an even steeper climb for the short-handed, scoring-challenged Heat, who haven't been able to replicate their hot shooting from Game 2, when they hit a franchise playoff-record 23 triples.

Including Monday's 9-for-33 performance from deep, Miami has shot just 29.5% (18-for-61) since then. Games 3 and 4 marked the first time since 2022 that Miami has been held under 90 points in back-to-back contests, be it regular season or the playoffs. The Celtics were the opponent last time it happened, too, back in the 2022 Eastern Conference finals.

Boston will seek to close out the best-of-seven series when it hosts Game 5 Wednesday night.

- Chris Herring, ESPN Senior Writer