On the second night of a back to back the Celtics have been 5-4 this season. Against the Bucks they had a chance to move their win streak to 4 games, and get within a game of the 8th seed (yes we’re taking playoffs). Let’s see how it went down..
1st quarter
Boston got up to a quick 9-2 lead, Bradley came out defending Knight allowing Smart to play off-ball. The Bucks, after falling behind, went on a 8-0 run to take a 10-9 lead before Stevens called his first timeout. Bucks did a great job of driving to the paint to create open looks from the perimeter. Brandon Knight started off the game on fire shooting 3-5 from beyond arc. Giannis Antetokounmpo looked like the best player on the floor scoring 6 points with 2 rebounds 2 assists and one highlight block on Evan Turner that had the crowd going crazy. However a solid Celtics attack led by Evan Turner and Jared Sullinger helped the Celtics stay step for step with Milwaukee and ended the quarter tied at 23.
2nd quarter
We got our first glimpse of Tayshaun Prince (since his hip injury) who scored the first points of the quarter. In the quarter of reserves, the Celtics and Bucks went back and forth with Boston down 32-33 halfway through the frame. Smart, Crowder, and Prince did a great job on the defensive end being able to switch off most screens, and hound the Bucks’ reserves. Prince came out smoking, scoring 7 2nd quarter points on 3-4 shooting. Jared Sullinger had a huge 2nd quarter also with 8 points. Brandon Knight continued to torch Avery Bradley on the P&R with 18 first half half points. Marcus Smart had 3 first half fouls and struggles communicating with teammates while guarding Bayless, & gave up layups on multiple occasions thinking he had help. 24 points in the paint kept the Celtics afloat, but a run at the end by Milwaukee was able to help them extend their lead to 53-46 by halftime.
3rd quarter
Marcus Smart drove to the hoop and got fouled on the first possession. He missed both FT’s, but I still felt we should document every time he drove to the basket. The Bucks came out smoking in the 3rd, instantly pushing out their lead to 12 before Bradley got the first Celtics points of the quarter with a 3. Milwaukee attacked the paint constantly and got to the line frequently in the quarter. With 8:30 left in the 3rd, the Celtics were down 66-52, and they looked extremely gassed. Crowder came in and gave Boston some life getting the lead down to single digits. Milwaukee was consistent in attacking the rim and they were rewarded with FT’s that kept their lead at double digits. Tyler Zeller did a great job attacking the paint, and he finished the 3rd with 8 points and 3 rebounds. A late run in the fourth led by Turner, Thornton, Prince, Crowder, and Zeller cut the Bucks lead to 5 to end the 3rd. Crowder was all over the place with 8 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
4th quarter
The Celts continued to attack the rim, and against a Bucks lineup that had no center, they were able to cut the lead to 3 early in the quarter. However, the Bucks’ starters came back out and took a commanding 90-81 lead. A Marcus Smart and 1 layup cut the lead back to 6, and a Sullinger layup got the Celtics within 4. The teams went back and forth down the stretch without Boston making any traction until a pair of Smart free throws cut it to 92-90. Then, with 3 minutes left, Sullinger split two FT’s and made it a one point game. After a timeout, John Henson hit a huge hook shot to make it 94-91, and after the teams traded misses Stevens called a timeout with 44 seconds left. After a timeout, Crowder drove and his layup was illegally interfered with by Henson cutting the lead to 94-93 with 28.7 seconds left. Out of the next timeout, the Bucks ran a pick and roll for Brandon Knight who got Brandon Bass on a switch and drained a huge fadeaway midrange shot to make it 96-93 with 6.7 seconds left, Boston called a timeout. But the Celtics couldn’t get Turner a clean pick, and he was forced to give the ball to Crowder for a wild fadeaway shot that missed its mark, and the Celtics lost 96-93.
The Green
- Jared Sullinger had 17 points and 7 rebounds on 8-14 shooting.
- Jae Crowder was big down the stretch playing tenacious defense at multiple positions and doing a little bit of everything with 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists.
- Against a much longer and athletic Milwaukee club the Celtics were able to win the rebounding battle 44-40 including an impressive 11-6 edge on the offensive glass
The Gross
- Brandon Knight had 18 of his 26 points in the first half, mostly against Avery Bradley.
- Bucks outscored the Celtics 16-3 in fastbreak points.
- Avery Bradley shot 4/15
- Evan Turner….
The Greenlights via @KWAPT
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The Grid: (quick stats)
- Celts’ bench had 42 points
- Including the All-Star break, Celts now have just 1 game over next 12 days
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