BOSTON — If Kyrie Irving is, as he proclaimed in an ESPN interview this week, an actual basketball genius, then how shall we categorize Giannis Antetokounmpo, who is currently playing the star role opposite Irving in the Bucks-Celtics semifinal series?

Savant? Guru? An actual Einsteinokounmpo?

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Because while Irving (8-for-22 shooting) was a bit of an ignoramus in an important Game 3 matchup at TD Garden, Antetokounmpo was a mastermind, diagnosing a Celtics defense that had frustrated him in Game 1 and in last season’s playoffs, and countering with a combination of athleticism and IQ unmatched in today’s game.

The result: 32 points, 8-for-13 shooting, 13 rebounds, eight assists and a 123-116 victory that decidedly proved Antetokounmpo’s mental fortitude.

The number that truly set apart Antetokounmpo’s acumen on Friday: 22. That was the number of free-throw attempts he took, making 16. His ability to get to the free-throw line, as much as anything the Bucks’ offense did (and there was plenty), kept Milwaukee steady during shooting droughts and took the wind out of the Celtics for key stretches.

"I’m just going to keep being aggressive," Antetokounmpo said. "That is what my teammates want me to do. I’ve said that in the past, and that’s what I’m going to keep doing. I love getting to the free-throw line. I’ve worked on it. I’m shooting my free throws with confidence, so it’s easy points for me and my teammates.

"I’m just going to keep being aggressive and keep making plays, and sometimes if I got to take it all the way, I got to take it all the way."

He went all the way despite a significant change in defensive strategy from Boston. In Games 1 and 2, Al Horford was the primary defender on Antetokounmpo for 60 possessions, with the Celtics sending help from either the left or right. Center Aron Baynes was the secondary defender, guarding Antetokounmpo 35 times.

Horford again was the main defender on Game 3, taking on Antetokounmpo 49 times. But Baynes played only two minutes and never guarded Antetokounmpo at all. Instead, Celtics coach Brad Stevens used Semi Ojeleye — 6-7 and 240 pounds as opposed to 6-10 and 260 pounds for Baynes — on Antetokounmpo.

Ojeleye had frustrated Antetokounmpo during the first-round matchup between the teams in 2018 and was the primary defender on Antetokounmpo for most of that series. He had not guarded Antetokounmpo much this time around, with Stevens hoping to employ him as a surprise wildcard.

But Antetokounmpo had the Celtics figured out. His persistent drives helped feed the Bucks’ streaky 3-point shooting, and with Milwaukee knocking down 15 of its 37 attempts (40.5 percent) from beyond the arc, the Celtics’ defense got, as Stevens said, "looser."

"I’m not sure," Horford said when asked about the Celtics’ inability to slow Antetokounmpo. "There was definitely some breakdown from our defense, things that we need to do better. In order for me to see the bigger picture, I’m just going to have to look at this game again."

MORE: Irving not happy with calls going Antetokounmpo's way

One play for which Horford may want to cover his eyes came with just over nine minutes to go in the game, the score at 99-90 and the Celtics still within reach of Milwaukee. Antetokounmpo was on the left wing beyond the 3-point line and had not attempted a 3-pointer in the game. He took a pass off a drive from Khris Middleton and put up a shot fake with Horford standing about seven feet away.

Horford bit on it, flailing at Antetokounmpo, who put the ball on the floor and drove. By the time the Celtics’ help — guards Irving and Terry Rozier — arrived, Antetokounmpo was already in his stride to the basket, a show-and-go dunk that set off a 7-0 run and sucked the air out of Boston’s comeback aspirations.

The Greek Freak takes flight MJ style!! #FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/ILrZkzkm2N — Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) May 4, 2019

Antetokounmpo was about as aggressive as he could be. He took one meaningless 3-pointer late in the game with the Bucks up 17, but 11 of his 13 shot attempts were dunks or layups, and one other was a 7-footer in the paint.

"Giannis was playing his game," wing Pat Connaughton said. "It’s on us as his teammates to make sure we get to our spots so the floor can be spaced more, so he can do what Giannis does. Which I am not sure anybody else in the world can do what Giannis does. When we were able to do that, he was able to get to the free-throw line, attack, get them on their heels a little bit. That’s when we are at our best."

Connaughton is right — it’s a symbiotic relationship. If the Celtics' defense was loose, it was because it was faced with choosing between defending the threat of Antetokounmpo’s drives and the Bucks’ 3-point shooters.

Of Antetokounmpo’s eight assists, six came on 3-pointers and two resulted in Bucks layups.

All this is a big step for Antetokounmpo, who is attempting to carry the Bucks to the conference finals for the first time since 2001 and wipe clean some past postseason failures, especially against these Celtics. Last year, in Games 5 and 7 in Boston, he scored just 38 combined points and was only 7-for-17 in the final game.

He opened this series with a dud, too, with 22 points on 7-for-21 shooting. But he’s shown a resilience we’ve not seen from him before.

"He’s continued to be aggressive," center Brook Lopez said. "He had a tough Game 1, but we all had a tough Game 1. He has responded so well. That’s the player we know, the player we love. He’s gonna come out with that same killer mentality every single night."

Part genius, part killer. For the ever-shifting Celtics defense, that’s an overwhelming challenge.