Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens heaped praises on Milwaukee Bucks forward Khris Middleton after Game 2 of their 2019 NBA Eastern Conference semifinals series.
Middleton torched the Celtics with 28 points to lead Milwaukee to a 123-102 win to tie the series. Stevens was not surprised with the performance of Middleton, saying that the 27-year-old became one of the best players in the Eastern Conference since their playoff series last season.
“He's one of the 12 best players in the East this year and has had a good year, and he started that in the playoffs last year against us,” Stevens said of Middleton via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
Middleton had a strong series against the Celtics in the first-round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs. He averaged 24.7 points on 62.7 percent shooting from the field on top of 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. In the do-or-die Game 7 between Boston and Milwaukee last season, the former second-round pick had 32 points in 41 minutes, but the Bucks took a 112-96 loss.
It was a different story on Tuesday, though, as the Bucks avoided falling into a deep hole with the series-tying win. Middleton got a lot of help, primarily from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had a tough time in Game 1. After a 22-point performance in the series opener, Giannis posted 29 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
Eric Bledsoe also had a solid night for Houston with 21 points and five rebounds. Brook Lopez and George Hill ended up with 10 points apiece for the Bucks, who knocked down 20 three-pointers to set a new franchise record for threes made in a playoff game.
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