The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 109-86 in Game 2 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at TD Garden in Boston on Tuesday, tying the series 1-1.

The Celtics bounced back from the big loss in Game 1 after doing two things well. Offensively, they drained 20 triples at 46.5 percent. Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Grant Williams combined for 16-of-29 from downtown. Brown scored a game-high 30 points for the Celtics, including 25 in the first half. Williams had a career-high 21 points.

Though the Celtics were still unable to crack the Bucks' paint open, where they only scored 24 points, four more than in Game 1, they increased their mid-range shooting. Hitting 6-for-15 between the paint and the 3-point line was much better than shooting 0-for-3 in the same area in Game 1.

When you are playing the Bucks, it's common knowledge that they will allow a lot of shots outside the paint. Taking what they give you is one of the best responses to the fortress built by Brook Lopez, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis.

The other great improvement the Celtics made on Tuesday night was on the defensive front. Instead of trapping Antetokounmpo at any cost and being battered by his connection with open 3-point shooters, the Celtics stuck to one-on-one defense on the "Greek Freak" unless he drove too deep. Williams and Al Horford contained Antetokounmpo to shooting 2-for-12 from the field to get only five points in the first half.

Moreover, the Bucks only took 18 attempts beyond the arc for the whole game and missed 15 of them. They only scored 40 points in the first half and trailed the Celtics by 25. Though Antetokounmpo worked hard from the third quarter, trying to lead the Bucks to rally, the deficit was too big for them to erase, especially without consistent 3-point shooting.

Antetokounmpo's individual offense was not decisive enough in the first half. Although Horford and Williams are strong enough to slow him down, when Antetokounmpo focused more attention and effort on charging the rim in the third quarter, the Celtics couldn't shut him down completely.

The "Greek Freak" shot 8-for-11 from the field, including making all six shots under the hoop, to score 18 points for the Bucks in the third quarter. However, he didn't have enough strength to maintain this performance in the final quarter. Neither were his teammates able to share the offensive burden with him in the rest of the game.

If Antetokounmpo had been more aggressive on offense in the first half, it's hard to say if the Bucks would have won, but at least the deficit wouldn't be so ugly. Besides, the way he played in the first and second quarters was too obvious for anyone to realize that he wasn't trying to charge the rim, but looking for open teammates to pass to.

The Celtics tied the series, but haven't claimed home-court advantage. They had other potential risks as well. As a team that made 12.25 triples at 35.5 percent per game in the first-round series, they don't have what it takes to maintain the 3-point shooting performance on Tuesday night. If they lose that touch in the following games, they can't win by scoring 20 or 24 points in the paint.

Moreover, though the Bucks were shut down at the free throw line and in fast-break situations, they still scored 54 points in the paint and made Horford and Robert Williams III, the two major rim protectors of the Celtics, commit five personal fouls each. The Celtics needed to figure out how to slow down Antetokounmpo without falling into foul trouble too quickly.

Game 3 of the series will happen at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Saturday.