Friday night fireworks

Two incredible games with special performances.

Good morning. Basketball is amazing. Special edition. Let’s go.

Starry Night Over the Rhone, Vincent van Gogh, 1888

Celtics 108, Bucks 95 — Series tied 3-3

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 44-20-6, hit 14/15 from the line … and the defending champs still lost at home, never getting a single lead after the first quarter. Why?

Because of this dude.

46 points on 17/32 shooting, including 7/15 on threes. Hitting spot-up jumpers, running high switches to get a match-up he can abuse, cutting, pulling up: he has it all. Grayson Allen was dinner. Pat Connaughton was dinner. Bobby Portis? Dinner. Even Jrue Holiday was dinner.

Boston got offensive contributions from Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown too, committed few turnovers overall and the famed Celtics defense held down just about all the Bucks except Giannis. Who, again, had 44-20-6 in a LOSS.

Absolute force of nature. Al Horford and Grant Williams are doing it all by the book, and this dude is just shredding anyway. Marcus Smart was not doing it by the book — note the flops, trying to draw charges on Giannis — but the refs didn’t buy it.

As many analysts have noted, the Bucks appear to be one player short, and that player is Khris Middleton. Though I’d note that, honestly, since this series is on such a knife’s edge, that player could also be P.J. Tucker.

What I’m getting at is that Grayson Allen has played 163 minutes in this series, starting four of the six games. The Bucks are -43 in those minutes. In the 125 minutes played without Allen on the floor, the Bucks are +18. In a perfect world, Allen stretches the floor to create space for Giannis to operate and forces defenses to help off Jrue Holiday, Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez. On the other end, in a perfect world, Allen is physical enough to prevent easy buckets. In reality, Allen’s shooting is colder than milkshake shop on Neptune (5/20 from three in the series) and he is pure crudité on defense.

There are not really many usable options for Mike Budenholzer. Pat Connaughton and Bobby Portis have been good off the bench, Wesley Matthews is playing about the max you can play Wesley Matthews, George Hill is not helping, Jevon Carter doesn’t wiggle the needle. You put P.J. Tucker in Grayson Allen’s spot and this series might be over. You put Khris Middleton there and I’m pretty sure it is. It’s not a knock on Grays— you know what, that dude’s a dirty player, it IS a knock on Grayson Allen. Every indication is that he is not what the cool kids call a “16-game player.” The Celtics are making the Bucks pay for having to pretend that he is.

And the Bucks *still* might win this series because they have freaking Giannis Antetokounmpo, the best basketball player in the world.

Next up: the two greatest words in the English language: Game 7. Sunday, 3:30 Eastern on ABC.

Grizzlies 96, Warriors 110 — GSW wins 4-2

Oh my Shammgod, what a game. What a game!

The Warriors spent the first three quarters trying desperately to demoralize the Grizzlies with deep threes or sick breakaways or crowd-popping backdoor cuts. And they flailed to be honest. It was the peak of conceited, devil-may-care Warriors triumphalism with so many unnecessarily tries at glory … in a really close game … against a team missing their foundational star … with a potential road Game 7 on the line.

I love the Warriors for this, for playing to win, for playing to hear the crowd roar all night long instead of just at the end. It’s so much more interesting than playing not to lose, which is what the book on this series would say is the smartest play given the Grizzlies’ halfcourt offense troubles without Ja Morant.

The Warriors had 16 turnovers through three quarters … and one in the fourth, as they calmed down, ran some offense, found Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson open from deep (it’s always a good strategy folks), let Kevon Looney absolutely FEAST on the offensive glass (this dude finished with an epic 4-22-5 box score, LEGENDARY), got some easy buckets on smart cuts or run-outs from Andrew Wiggins (so good on both ends late) and Draymond Green and forced the Grizzlies to rely on Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane to generate offense.

The Warriors won that fourth quarter by 13. And both Klay and Steph got the crowd roaring big in the end.

Brooks was having an out-of-body experience all game long, just a pure Dillon Brooks buffet for viewers to enjoy. Bane did Bane things, and is an absolutely joy out there. Poor Tyus Jones and Brandon Clarke missed a bunch of shots they normally make, and Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson Jr. really struggled with Looney on the glass. Remember what Clarke was doing to the Timberwolves last round on the glass? That’s what Looney did to the Grizzlies. Bad beat.

Memphis has a bright road ahead, whether they swing hard on a big addition this summer or focus on bringing back their two key free agents (Tyus Jones and Kyle Anderson) while planning or executions extensions for 2023 free agents Brooks, Clarke and Adams. Morant is making All-NBA, so he’s getting the supermax — that kicks in for the 2023-24 season. That’s the year this team gets pricey. But the Memphis front office has proven worthy of trust over the last few years. Eager to see what they do.

As for the Warriors: back in the conference finals after saying goodbye to Kevin Durant, after those two devastating injuries to Klay, after the 19-win premiere season at their new arena, after getting left out of the bubble, after Steph Curry turned 34, after folks started writing off Draymond Green’s impact, after the James Wiseman draft decision. The core Warriors’ legacies are fully secure. But there’s room for more stories in the book. And these dudes are still writing.

Who will they face in the conference finals? Mavericks vs. Suns, Game 7, Sunday, 8 Eastern, TNT. Find out.

Free Brittney Griner. Be excellent to each other.