Celtics force Game 7 with Bucks; Warriors oust Grizzlies

Jayson Tatum scored 46 points, outdueling Giannis Antetokounmpo to make sure there wouldn’t be another Milwaukee fourth-quarter comeback, and the Boston Celtics beat the defending champions Bucks 108-95 on Friday night to force a seventh game in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

The third straight victory for a road team set up a winner-take-all game Sunday in Boston. The winner will head to Miami to face the top-seeded Heat on Tuesday night.

Boston bounced back two nights after blowing a 14-point, fourth-quarter lead at home in a 110-107 Game 5 loss. The Bucks tried to rally again after trailing by 14 points in the final period, but this time Tatum kept the Celtics on top and kept their season alive.

Jaylen Brown added 22 points for Boston, and Marcus Smart had 21.

Antetokounmpo had 44 points, 20 rebounds and six assists.

WARRIORS 110, GRIZZLIES 96

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Klay Thompson made 3-pointers on the way to 30 points, Stephen Curry had 29 points and six 3s and Golden State advance to the Western Conference finals, beating Memphis in Game 6.

The Warriors will face the Phoenix-Dallas winner in the conference finals. Game 7 of that series is Sunday in Phoenix.

Golden State — eliminated by Memphis in the play-in tournament last year — withstood a testy series to advance to the conference finals for the first time since 2019, when the franchise reached its fifth straight NBA Finals before losing to Toronto in the deciding Game 6.

Dillon Brooks scored 30 points for Memphis, hitting a career-best seven 3-pointers.

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