Al Horford (22 pts, 16 rebounds) thought he was cooling the Fiserv Forum, with his rebound tap in the haversack synonymous with extension.

But the video was formal: the ball had not yet taken off from his right hand when the red light and the buzzer sounded the end of this thrilling encounter.

A N.3 match for which the "Greek" (Greek) went into "Freak" mode (monster), determined to calm the newfound euphoria of Boston, which had been able to limit its impact during the previous game.

It was in the 3rd quarter that things settled down for the defending champion, from the moment when the MVP 2019 and 2020, already the most active in the first period (20 pts), multiplied.

His "coast to coast" (sprint from his side to the other), after countering Jayson Tatum, then taking an offensive rebound and finally dunking, illustrated his abundance of energy, as well as his outrageous domination (12 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks).

Tatum misses

The Celtics were unable to oppose a response to Antetokounmpo, who even danced from the shoulders, after a decisive pass to Jrue Holiday, on another lightning counter-attack having created a gap of ten points (66-56), increased to thirteen at the end of the period (80-67).

Wesley Matthews (l.) in defense against Jayson Tatum during the Bucks' victory over the Celtics, May 7, 2022 in Milwaukee.

Stacy Revere GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

However, the games were far from over.

Thanks to Jaylen Brown (27 pts, 12 rebounds), Boston was able to resurface in the last quarter, even taking the advantage (100-99) less than two minutes from the end.

So Giannis gave a boost, scoring close first, then countering Brown, before Holiday, excellent (25 pts), placed a welcome float for the Bucks (103-100).

The latter then foul on Marcus Smart (9 pts), who seemed to have armed a shot behind the arc.

Believing that was not the case, the referees awarded two and not three free throws.

The point guard, back from a thigh injury, scored on his first attempt and opted to miss the second.

Good strategy with Horford's winning gesture, which the clock finally invalidated.

Boston can harbor regrets for being so close to a winning comeback.

This would surely have required Jayson Tatum to be more successful (10 pts at 4/19).

"Splash brothers" snipers

Ime Udoka, while cursing after "the bad judgment" of the refereeing body, also agreed that his players first paid for their "negligence in the 3rd quarter", assuring: "we can play much better".

This is what Golden State did against Memphis, during a confrontation much less tight than the first two were, which were decided in the last seconds.

It must be said that when the "splash brothers" are at this level of skill, it is difficult to compete.

Stephen Curry (30 pts), Jordan Poole (27 pts) and Klay Thompson (21 pts) shot more than 50% success, an even higher rate for the entire team (63.1%).

The difference was made in the 3rd quarter (37-23), the moment generally chosen by the Warriors to accelerate.

And their lead then continued to grow.

Stephen Curry (c.) during the Warriors' win over the Memphis Grizzlies on May 7, 2022 in San Francisco.

Thearon W. Henderson GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Opposite, Morant has not yet been unworthy (34 pts at 12/21, 7 assists), managing to place his sharp accelerations in the racket, to slam spectacular dunks and even to score from midfield to the midfield buzzer. -weather.

But he was the only Grizzlies with sharp claws and couldn't dominate the final quarter like in the previous game, scoring his team's last 15 points to finish with 47 in total.

In a stark and even somewhat disturbing contrast for Memphis, he had to leave the court before the last five minutes, very frustrated, appearing to suffer from a leg.

© 2022 AFP