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The School Newspaper of Franklin High School

Pantherbook

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The School Newspaper of Franklin High School

Pantherbook

The School Newspaper of Franklin High School

Pantherbook

Celtics Hold off Bucks in Physical Battle

Saturday night’s game between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks could be a preview of what could be physical series when the first round of the NBA playoffs begin on April 17th. With a 105-90 victory against Milwaukee, the Celtics (50-30) are currently in 4th place in the Eastern Conference and only one game behind the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks (45-35) are tied with the Miami Heat for 5th place in the Eastern Conference. Saturday night’s loss snapped a 4-game winning streak for Milwaukee. With only two games remaining in the regular season, there is a chance these two teams could meet in round one.

The Celtics split the first two meetings with the Bucks, winning 98-89 on December 8th in Boston and losing 86-84 in Milwaukee on March 9th. The Celtics lead the season series with the Bucks 2-1 and will look to win the series when they face each other again for the regular season finale on April 14th. Paul Pierce led all players with 24 points and Rajon Rondo had the only double-double of the game with 15 points and 10 assists. John Salmons was the top scorer for the Bucks with 21 points. Milwaukee really missed big man Andrew Bogut who averaged 15.9 points per game and 10.2 rebounds per game before having hand, wrist, and elbow injuries. Bogut is expected to miss about 5 more weeks and is unlikely to return to the team unless they go deep into the playoffs. In the Bucks only victory against the Celtics, Bogut was unstoppable scoring 25 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.

With 2:35 remaining in the game and Boston leading 88-81, Glen Davis was pulled down by Kurt Thomas when going up for a shot down low. Davis quickly rose from the floor and intentionally bumped Thomas. A flagrant foul was issued to Kurt Thomas and Glen Davis was given a technical foul. The next play, Paul Pierce and Jerry Stackhouse got tangled up and both fell to the court. Pierce and Stackhouse shoved each other and exchanged a few words before play was finally resumed. Milwaukee head coach Scott Skiles was given a couple of technical fouls and then was ejected from the game because he argued with the referees.