Milwaukee Bucks and their superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo were eliminated from the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs after a 109-81 defeat to the Ime Udoka-led Boston Celtics in their Eastern Conference semi-final decider this morning.
The Celtics are handled by former D’Tigers of Nigeria star Udoka, who became the first African head coach of an NBA franchise at the beginning of the season.
The Boston team will now face the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals. Heat also have Nigerian representation in D’Tigers Tokyo 2020 Olympics star Gabe Nnamdi Vincent.
Grant Williams scored 27 points, including seven three-pointers, for Boston, while Jayson Tatum added 23.
When asked what he did to inspire Williams, Udoka said: “Told him to let it fly. They were disrespecting you more tonight than earlier in the series. … I basically said, ‘Shoot the ball, what else can you do?'”
Greek superstar born to Nigerian parents, Antetokounmpo, top scored for the Bucks with 25 points.
The two-time former Most Valuable Player started strongly as the defending champions Bucks led 26-20 after the first quarter, but was powerless as the Celtics took control in front of their cheering home fans.
Boston converted 22 of their 55 three-point attempts, while Milwaukee made only four of their 33 efforts from deep.
The Celtics, who have won a joint-record 17 NBA titles along with the Los Angeles Lakers, advanced to their fourth conference finals appearance in the past six years.
However, they are in the hunt their first title since 2008.
In this morning’s other Game 7 fixture, the Dallas Mavericks secured their place in the Western Conference finals with a 123-90 victory over their hosts, the Phoenix Suns.
Regular season MVP Luka Doncic starred with 35 points and 10 rebounds, while Spencer Dinwiddie scored 30 points off the bench and Jalen Brunson added 24.
The top-seeded Suns were early favourites to go all the way and win the 2022 NBA championship.
Dallas will face the third-seeded Golden State Warriors in the conference finals, with Game 1 scheduled for San Francisco on Wednesday.
