“Smoked Deer Meat,” Kendrick Perkins feasts on the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks as Jayson Tatum and Boston Celtics shine on Christmas

“Smoked Deer Meat,” Kendrick Perkins feasts on the Giannis Antetokounmpo-led Milwaukee Bucks as Jayson Tatum and Boston Celtics shine on Christmas

Jayson Tatum dunks on Giannis Antetokounmpo (Image via @Celtics on Twitter)

The much-hyped Christmas Day game between the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks turned out to be a disappointment. Boston absolutely routed Milwaukee in a 139-118 victory which pushed the Celtics 1.5 games clear at the top of the East over the Bucks.

The most disappointing aspect is the lackluster performance of Giannis Antetokounmpo in the superstar matchup with Jayson Tatum. Giannis shot an inefficient 9-22 on his way to a modest 27 points. Tatum meanwhile, put up a scorching hot 41 points including 20 in the 3rd quarter.

YouTube video

After the game, the media were quick to bash the Bucks and Giannis for playing so lethargic. Kendrick Perkins, the chief amongst them. The former Celtic had this to say about the duel between Tatum and the Greek Freak.

This loss makes it 3-straight Ls for the Bucks. Although it is important to note that they are still without all-star forward Khris Middleton, it is a point of concern that none of the losses have been particularly close.

Also Read:“Highest scoring quarter in Christmas Day history” – NBA Twitter blasts LeBron James, Lakers for suffering 51-21 thumping in the third quarter and losing against dominant Luka Doncic, Mavs

Celtics offense returns to form in blowout of eastern rivals

The Boston Celtics through the opening quarter and a bit of the season sported the best offense in NBA history in terms of offensive rating. In recent times, however, they fell into a complete shooting slump which was the reason for their abysmal 2-5 stretch. Over those 7 games, Boston shot 29% from 3.

Against the Bucks, the offense sprung back into life fuelled by the 3-point shooting. Hitting 19 out of 39 for a whopping 48.7%, the Cs blitzed Milwaukee, making 6 more threes than the Bucks. Jaylen Brown led the avalanche with a 5-9 performance and Tatum wasn’t far behind with 3-7 from three. This strong showing is sure to boost Tatum’s case for MVP as well. He has beaten all of his main rivals for the award in head-to-head games this season.

Christmas Day will be a deja-vu from last year’s second-round series for Milwaukee. In that game as well, the Bucks helped off Celtics shooters to protect the paint, and Boston just killed them from deep, hitting 110 threes in the series, 57 more than Milwaukee. The Boston Celtics, infused with the return of Robert Williams III, look worthy of the team with the best record in the NBA after the statement win over their closest challengers.

Also Read: LeBron James gets mic’d up to send Christmas-Love to his family and rest of the NBA

Also Read: “If he doesn’t win MVP this season, I’ll quit watching basketball” -NBA Twitter goes bonkers as Joel Embiid spoils the Christmas Party in New York, Madison Square Garden