Prior to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Boston Celtics, much of the talk surrounded Boston's determination to sacrifice their bodies on the defensive end and draw charges on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Or, instead, they could simply let Al Horford do the dirty work inside. Horford denied Giannis emphatically at the rim… twice:
Al Horford met Giannis at the rim TWICE 😤 pic.twitter.com/uuR8X9BvTI
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 28, 2019
Defensive plays like this one epitomized Boston's 112-90 victory in Game 1. The Celtics allowed just 26 points in the paint and held the Bucks to under 35 percent shooting from the field. Antetokounmpo, who shot close to 60 percent during the regular season, made just 7 of his 21 attempts despite actually making a trio of three-pointers. Giannis was just 4 of 16 on all two-pointers.
While Antetokounmpo struggled, Horford was tremendous. He poured in 20 points and added 11 rebounds while proving to be a crucial cog in Boston's interior defense. Jaylen Brown in particular was a defensive menace in harassing Giannis, and even dunked on him for good measure.
In what has been perhaps his best individual season yet, Kyrie Irving continued his run of great play in Game 1, scoring 26 points to go along with 11 assists and seven rebounds. The Celtics had 25 assists to just 19 for Milwaukee, and also out rebounded the Bucks 51-44 for the game.
Boston has already stolen the home court advantage in convincing fashion. Horford's play might be the X-factor going forward. He battled illness early in Boston's first-round series against Indiana, but is now fully healthy and providing major contributions.
Giannis is sure to keep attacking the rim in order to assert his will moving forward, but solving Boston's team defense looks to be his greatest challenge yet.
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