'Absolutely ready for this game,' Giannis Antetokounmpo authors dominant performance as Milwaukee Bucks take series lead

MILWAUKEE — The Boston Celtics made everything difficult offensively for Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo through the first two games of this series, but Antetokounmpo broke through with a dominant performance in Game 3, scoring 42 points to lead the Bucks to a 103-101 victory on Saturday.

An extra off-day between Games 2 and 3 gave Antetokounmpo more time to stew on his performance from Milwaukee's most recent loss — which included going 2 for 12 shooting in the first half. A team source described Antetokounmpo's demeanor in practice in the days leading up to Game 3 as «angry» to ESPN because he believed he could play better.

«He was absolutely ready for this game,» Bucks center Brook Lopez said. «I think he was ready for this game right after Game 2.»

Antetokounmpo responded from a poor shooting night in Game 2 to finish 16 of 30 (53%) on Saturday, adding 12 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks to help the Bucks take a 2-1 series advantage.

The Celtics had been keeping him off-balanced by throwing a mix of talented, physical defenders to guard him on each possession, but Antetokounmpo found some answers on Saturday. Antetokounmpo scored against five different primary defenders, including 14 points against Celtics forward Al Horford, and scored 26 points in the paint, his most in a playoff game this season, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

And when Antetokounmpo drove to the basket, the Celtics had no answer. He scored 17 points when shooting after his own drives, according to Second Spectrum, his most in a game this season.

«I just tried to read whatever is in front of me, play to my strengths as much as possible,» Antetokounmpo said after the game. «I know what my strengths are. Sometimes