Milwaukee City Wire

Milwaukee Coach Mike Budenholzer was left unbowed after his defending champion Bucks were bounced from the NBA Playoffs in a classic seven game Eastern Conference semifinal match against the Boston Celtics.

“Couldn’t be more proud of the team, the competitiveness and the character and the toughness,” Budenholzer said in a video posted to Twitter. “It’s a great group. We’ve been through a lot together, a lot of basketball. We’ve had success and tonight we hit a wall, we met our end. It hurts and it's hard but my respect and love for the team isn't any different right now than it is at any other time.”

Milwaukee came up short in Game 7, 101-89, continuing a trend that ESPN reports saw the team drop three of the four games in the series where they failed to net over 100 points. Throughout the entire series the Bucks were forced to play without star forward Kris Middleton, who suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee during Game 2 of their first-round matchup with the Chicago Bulls.

"We could've used [Middleton], definitely could've used him," Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said. "He makes big shots and big plays on both ends, but especially offensively."

Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo did all he could to pick up the slack, averaging 33.9 points, 14.7 rebounds and 7.1 assists during the series against a Celtics defense that ranked first in the league during the regular season in team efficiency. His three 40-point games in the series were the most Boston allowed all season.

In addition, Antetokounmpo became the first player in league history to score 200 points, grab 100 rebounds and dish out 50 assists during a single series.

With their season now over, the Bucks are expected to focus on getting healthy and figuring out what tweaks they need to make to a roster that already features one of the most productive trios in the league in Antetokounmpo, Holiday and Middleton.