Eric Bledsoe may have claimed that he didn't know who Terry Rozier was during their matchup in the first-round but after a gruelling seven-game series, he not only knows who he is but has also developed respect for him. The duo were involved in spats both on and off the court as the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks battled all the way to a deciding game seven on Saturday night. They came to blows on the floor and bad-mouthed one another in post-game interviews but once the buzzer sounded on a thrilling series, the pair embraced and settled their differences in a classy manner. Bledsoe praised his Celtics counterpart for the series he had after Boston secured a 112-96 win to advance to the second round. "I mean, it's the playoffs," Bledsoe said, per ESPN's Chris Forsberg. "What, you expect us to be out there shaking hands, giving out hugs the whole time? S--- ain't gonna happen. He had a hell of a series, man. I've got to take my hat off to him."Rozier also had nice words for the Bucks point guard and simply put their feud down to their competitive nature as players. "You have two guys that want to win, two chippy guys, two short point guards," he said. "If it takes for us to go back and forth, jaw back and forth, battle, push each other, that's part of the game. We talked after the game."

Rozier has been the starter at the point for the C's since Kyrie Irving underwent a season-ending knee surgery and outplayed the more experienced Bledsoe over their seven meetings. 

He averaged a series-high 6.7 assists per game to go along with 17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals over 36 minutes.

The 24-year-old's biggest moment came in game one when he almost broke Bledsoe's ankles with a devastating crossover and step-back before nailing a huge clutch three-pointer.  

But he came of age throughout the series and appears to be enjoying a breakout in these playoffs. 

For Milwaukee, it's a second consecutive exit in the first round but for the Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers await in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

A tough individual matchup awaits Rozier as he'll come up against Ben Simmons who plays at the one spot despite his big size. 

At just 6'2", it'll be a big ask for the Celtics man to guard him and it'll be down to head coach Brad Stevens to make the right adjustments to combat Simmons' size. 

As two of the most exciting young teams in the east, it should be an exciting series and a preview of a battle we're likely to see in the coming years. 

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