Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo says top seed 'doesn't matter'

MILWAUKEE — Jrue Holiday matched a career-high with 40-points and Giannis Antetokounmpo had 36 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 131-125 overtime victory over an undermanned Boston Celtics team on Tuesday, extending Milwaukee's winning streak to 11 games.

The streak, the longest active in the league, has brought the Bucks to within a half game of Boston for the best record in the NBA. And yet, Antetokounmpo said he still isn't enticed by the possibility of securing homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs with the No. 1 seed.

«We're playing good basketball, that's what I care about,» Antetokounmpo said after Tuesday's game. «Now if we finish first, good. If we finish second, great. If we finish third, better. It doesn't really matter. At the end of the day, you've got to prepare your mind that in order for you to win a championship, you've got to play hard teams.

»You've got to go and earn it. Nobody is going to give you a championship. You've got to go and earn it. It's not going to be easy."

Nothing was easy for the Bucks on Tuesday night, despite the Celtics being without nearly all of their starting lineup: Jayson Tatum (illness), Jaylen Brown (facial fracture), Al Horford (knee) and Marcus Smart (ankle). Robert Williams was limited to 13 minutes off the bench.

Their absences removed some of the luster from a matchup between the two teams with the best records in the league, but the Celtics pushed the game into overtime thanks to the efforts of Derrick White, who scored 27 points, and Malcolm Brogdon, who added 26 off the bench.

«Boston, whomever comes out, they're going to execute, they're going to play on both ends,» Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. «Our guys competed and