Jrue Holiday came up clutch on both ends of the court to help the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Boston Celtics 110-107 on Wednesday and take a 3-2 series lead. The Bucks came back from 14 points down in the final period to win. 

As has been the case so often in this series defence was crucial for both teams throughout Game 5. The defensive play of Boston allowed them to spread the game for the first time in the second quarter. 

However, the play of Giannis Antetokounmpo kept the Bucks alive. The Greek Freak scored 15 points in the quarter, including a pair of layups to close out the quarter and reduce the deficit to just seven points, 54-47. 

Jaylen Brown looked to ice the game for Boston in the 3rd, but Antetokounmpo was again on hand to carry his team. Brown scored 16 points in the quarter but Giannis’ answer of 13 points meant Boston could only extend their halftime lead by 2. 

Strong defensive stands to begin the fourth allowed the Celtics to extend their lead to 14 points inside the opening two minutes, but the Bucks stayed strong and slowly chipped away at the lead. A three pointer from Giannis made it 105-102 with 1:40 remaining. 

Then a steal from Giannis gave Holiday the opportunity to level the game and he duly obliged with a three of his own.

A pair of free throws from Jayson Tatum put the Celtics up two with 31.1 seconds left. And when Antetokounmpo missed the second of his pair at the line, Marcus Smart appeared to have an easy board. But a flailing arm from Brown put the ball in the hands of Bobby Portis, who tipped in to give Milwaukee their first lead since the start of the second quarter. 

Then it was Jrue Holiday time, the guard first blocked Smart from behind as he looked to have an easy layup before stealing the ball from the same player to finish the game. 

Giannis finished with 40 points and 11 rebounds, with Holiday adding 24/8/8 and Portis 14 points and 15 rebounds off the bench. Tatum finished with 34/6/4 with Brown adding 26 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. 

Game 6 will be in Milwaukee on Friday @12:30am (GMT +1). The teams have traded wins back and forth all series and it has been such a great battle I think we deserve a Game 7.

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