Giannis Antetokounmpo dominates with 39 points as Bucks beat Celtics to take 3-1 series lead

Giannis Antetokounmpo finished off a masterful 39-point performance with an emphatic one-handed throw-down as the Bucks beat the Celtics in Game 4

Giannis Antetokounmpo produced a dominant performance to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 3-1 series lead over the Boston Celtics.

Playoff Picture: How things stand

How do the second-round series currently stand?

Monday night's playoff scores

  • Milwaukee Bucks 113-101 Boston Celtics - Bucks lead 3-1
  • Golden State Warriors 108-112 Houston Rockets - Series tied 2-2

Despite being limited to 34 minutes on court because of third-quarter foul trouble, Antetokounmpo stuffed the stat sheet with 39 points (on 15-of-22 shooting), 16 rebounds, four assists, two three-pointers, a steal and a block to lead Milwaukee to a 113-101 Game 4 win that ensured they took a commanding 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-final series.

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The MVP co-favourite signalled his intentions early in the game, tidying up a slightly sloppy pass from team-mate Ersan Ilyasova before ramming home a two-handed dunk with 6:25 left in the first quarter. He posted 15 first-half points as the Bucks trailed 49-47 at intermission.

Giannis Antetokoumpo scored 39 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 113-101 Game 4 win over the Boston Celtics

Antetokounmpo opened the third quarter with seven points but was forced to the bench with 8:18 remaining after picking up his fourth foul. However, after Milwaukee's bench unit earned the Bucks a fourth-quarter lead, Antetokounmpo returned to put the game away with a series of explosive plays.

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With 10:46 remaining, he powered through Jayson Tatum and Al Horford to finish strongly at the rim then, a minute later, spun by Horford in the lane to score with a scoop lay-up and draw a foul from Kyrie Irving. A Giannis put-back lay-up off a missed fast-break finish extended the Bucks' lead to 10 with six minutes to go.

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With 4:04 left, Antetokounmpo drove from the left wing, spun past Jaylen Brown and threw down a two-handed slam. He then punctuated his superb performance in the final minute of the game, driving hard down the lane to finish with an emphatic 'Statue of Liberty' slam.

Check out the best plays from Monday night's playoff action

Click the video at the top of the page to watch Giannis' dunk of the night from the Bucks' Game 4 win over the Celtics, then click the clip directly above to watch more top plays from Monday night's playoff action, including a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Andre Iguodala.

Also See:

Game 5 takes place in Milwaukee in the early hours of Thursday morning (1am) live on Sky Sports Arena.

Want to watch the NBA but don't have Sky Sports? Get the Sky Sports Action and Arena pack, click here.

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