Boston Celtics: 3 takeaways from Game 5 vs. Bucks

The Boston Celtics escaped Game 5 with a 92-87 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, taking a 3-2 lead as the series heads back to Milwaukee for Game 6.

After letting the Milwaukee Bucks back into the series with consecutive wins in Games 3 and 4, the Boston Celtics regained momentum in their first round series, winning 92-87 in Game 5 to move just one win away from advancing to the second round.

It was a true grind it out, playoff-type battle in Boston, as neither team shot above 45 percent from the field or 33 percent from beyond the arc.

Al Horford came up big for the Celtics, finishing with a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds in 37 minutes of action.

Three other Celtics scored in double figures, led by Terry Rozier‘s 18, and Marcus Smart made his long-awaited return to action, showing rust with nine points on 2-of-9 shooting.

For Milwaukee, Khris Middleton led the team with 23 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo inexplicably only shot the ball 10 times in 41 minutes, scoring 16.

If Boston hopes to end this series in Game 6 on Thursday, it won’t be easy, as the Bucks will certainly try to feed off their crowd to live another day. The C’s will need to do more of what they did in Game 5 to set up a battle with the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semifinals.