MILWAUKEE – Al Horford always wants to be known for making the right basketball play, but on Monday night something more was demanded of the Celtics center.
Loathe though he is to be known as a lead scorer, Horford filled that vital need and more with a 30-point, five-trey performance that was the backbone of the Celtics’ 116-108 Game 4 win, evening the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals series at 2-2.
Jayson Tatum, mired for the second straight game in a tough shooting night, then carried it home in the fourth with the best part of a 30-point performance.
It was enough to overcome a 34-point, 18-rebound night from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Game 5 is at 7 p.m. Wednesday at TD Garden.
Tatum’s drive with 4:31 gave the Celtics a 100-96 lead, and following a Bucks turnover, he slashed for a three-point play and a 103-96 lead at the expense of George Hill. Antetokounmpo was called for an offensive foul, and Tatum buried a deep 3-pointer.
The result was a 106-96 Celtics lead – their biggest of the night. Grayson Allen answered from downtown, cutting the margin to seven points with 3:05 left.
Tatum came back with a lunging, falling bank shot that Wesley Matthews answered with a 3-pointer, cutting the lead to 108-102.
Marcus Smart muscled in for a 110-102 lead, and Jaylen Brown, fouled by Antetokounmpo, hit two free throws for a 112-102 Celtics lead with 1:27 left. Smart curled into the lane with a short turnaround, Antetokounmpo answered at the rim, and Derrick White, intentionally fouled, hit twice with 43.2 seconds left for a 116-106 lead.
Tatum had a belabored 18 points after three quarters – he had just shot 6-for-18, 2-for-9 from three – to get that far. And as the Celtics star continued to miss multiple open shots, the Celtics fell into an 80-73 hole by the start of the fourth. Antetokounmpo had just slashed for nine third quarter points, with the Bucks opening space with a 13-4 run.
But starting with Horford’s 15-footer, the Celtics came rushing back with an 8-0 run. Horford, dunked on by Antetokounmpo earlier in the night, converted a three-point play via a dunk over the Bucks star. Horford was also flagged for a Flagrant 1 foul for catching Antetokounmpo with an elbow.
The result was an 81-81 tie, with the Celtics surging again with a 7-0 run that included five more points from Horford, including a 3-pointer with 8:07 left for an 88-85 Celtics lead.
But the Bucks took the lead back on a Pat Connaughton bomb (92-90), and when Tatum tied it with a triple-teamed drive, drove for a 94-92 lead.
But Horford hit from the corner for a 95-94 Celtics lead, and with Smart and Antetokounmpo entangled down the other end of the floor following a rebound battle, Horford scored once again off the break – this time for a three-point play and a 98-94 Celtics lead.
The Celtics ramped up their defensive pressure following a slow first quarter that found them falling behind by 10 points. They rebounded to take the lead late in the second, with three free throws from Wesley Matthews the difference in Milwaukee’s 48-47 halftime lead.
Horford and Brown each had 11 points, and Tatum, 1-for-6 from downtown, had nine. Overall Celtics efficiency, as evidenced by 40% shooting, was a problem.
The Celtics fell behind by as many as eight points (61-53) before Horford and Tatum, each with a 3-pointer, fueled a 6-2 spurt that cut the Bucks lead to two points. But Antetokounmpo continued to slash through coverage as Tatum missed four straight shots, three at the rim and one of those blocked by the Bucks star.
The Celtics also fell into the penalty early, with the ultimate insult when Antetokounmpo missed two free throws, only for Brook Lopez to tip in the rebound.
