Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics celebrates after scoring against the Milwaukee Bucks during the second quarter of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals at TD Garden. The Celtics won 109-86 on May 3, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts.Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Ja Morant scored 47 points to match his post-season high and carry the Memphis Grizzlies into a tie in the Western Conference semi-finals with a 106-101 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.
Morant scored the last 15 points for Memphis, starting with 4:16 left. He drove and turned around a defender before hitting a 7-foot jumper with 1:42 left to put Memphis ahead to stay at 100-99. He added four free throws and a 9-footer finishing with 18 in the fourth quarter.
The NBA’s Most Improved Player, who also had 47 in Game 2 against Utah last year, became only the third player in league history to have multiple 45-point games in the post-season before turning 23. The other two? LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
Now the youngest team to reach the semi-final round in the last 25 years heads to San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday night knowing the series will return to Memphis for Game 5.
Stephen Curry finished with 27 points on 3-of-11 shooting outside the arc. Jordan Poole added 20 off the bench but was 1 of 6 from 3. Andrew Wiggins had 16, going 1 of 7 from 3. Klay Thompson finished with 12 points and was 2 of 12 from 3. The Warriors shot just 7 of 38 from 3-point range.
Celtics 109, Bucks 86
BOSTON – Jaylen Brown scored 25 of his 30 points in the first half, and Boston beat Milwaukee to even their second-round playoff at one game apiece.
Brown shook off a dismal shooting night in Game 1, going 9 for 10 in the first half, including 5 for 5 from the 3-point line. Jayson Tatum added 19 points and eight assists. Al Horford had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
The series doesn’t resume until Game 3 on Saturday in Milwaukee.
Boston finished 20 of 43 from beyond the arc. The Celtics played without point guard Marcus Smart after he was ruled out before the game with a bruised right thigh he sustained in Game 1. Derrick White took his place in the starting lineup, making his first start in a playoff game since 2019 when he was with San Antonio.
The Celtics clamped down on Giannis Antetokounmpo after his triple-double in the series opener, limiting him to 28 points – mostly in the third quarter – nine rebounds and seven assists. Jrue Holiday added 19 points and seven assists. Bobby Portis chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.