The Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Boston Celtics 103-101 in Game 3 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on Saturday to lead 2-1 in the series.

The Bucks replaced Bobby Portis with Grayson Allen in the starting lineup to shut down the opponents at the 3-point line. When the Celtics' perimeter players called screen outside, the Bucks' defenders would try hard to beat the screen and chase the Celtics' ball-handlers inside. Such defensive arrangements worked well as the Celtics shot 9-of-33 from downtown in Saturday's game, a huge decline from the 20-for-43 shooting performance in Game 2.

Meanwhile, the Bucks kept remarkable defense in the paint, where they allowed only 32 points by the opponents. By contrast, the Bucks scored 52 points in the same area, which was a huge boost to their offense when they shot 9-of-34 at the 3-point line, which was no better than the Celtics' performance.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was contained by the Celtics' specially-designed defense in the first two games, exploded to drop 42 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists for the Bucks on Saturday. He did two things right to make such incredible progress. First, "the Greek Freak" exploited every chance he could grasp to drive fast break via which the Bucks scored 21 points, 10 more than the Celtics.

Second, instead of tussling with Grant Williams to press deep into the paint where it's easier for other Celtics to double-team or make help defense, Antetokounmpo took advantage of his size and wingspan to take more hook shots. With a surprisingly good touch, he hit 13-for-21 in the paint in Saturday's game.

On the Celtics' side, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford shouldered the offensive responsibilities by combining 49 points, 28 rebounds and nine assists. Brown displayed excellent aggressiveness in the fourth quarter, walking to the free throw line seven times and making six shots there. His 15 points in this quarter kept the suspense for Game 3 until the last second. Horford contributed 12 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Celtics in the final quarter as well. He alone drained four of the team's nine triples.

Fairly speaking, neither side was in their best offensive form in Saturday's game. The Bucks led by only three points with 11.2 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. Marcus Smart tried to draw a 3-point shooting foul in the following possession but he was given only two free throws. Smart intentionally missed the second shot and grabbed the offensive rebound. Unfortunately, the Celtics missed three shots in the last 4.6 seconds of the game. When Horford tipped the ball back into the basket, it was already too late to count.

The close result meant the Celtics could have won Game 3 if they had done certain things better. For example, Jayson Tatum shouldn't be limited to 4-of-19 from the field by Wesley Matthews. Matthews is an experienced, strong defender, but his 1.93-meter height is far from enough to deflect the Tatum's shooting. If Tatum could make shots in the middle range like Brown did in Saturday's game, the Celtics would have a better chance to win and gain the home advantage back.

As for the Bucks, their advantage in the paint seems solid judging by the first three games of the East semifinals. There is still room for the team's 3-point shooting to improve, but only by limited space. Without Khris Middleton, the Bucks are unlikely to do much better in the middle range than they have done so far. Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday combing 60 of the Bucks' 99 field goals (FGs) are likely to become a regular scene in the rest of the series.

The playoffs belong to super stars. So far, the star duo of the Bucks have been doing better than their Celtics' counterparts.