It took Boston a little time to get started tonight, as Milwaukee looked like the hungrier more interested team from the outset. We saw a lot of jumpers and little defense from the Celts through much of the 1st. Couple that with 7 turnovers and you get yourself one lackluster 1st quarter. Khris Middleton absolutely had his way with the green teamers, putting in 13 of Milwaukee’s 25 1st quarter points. But Marcus Smart and Phil Pressey (off the bench) injected some energy into Boston’s effort. It was 25-23 Bucks after 1, despite it feeling like Boston was outplayed for much of the first 12 minutes.
The C’s got it going on both ends in quarter number two. They played much better defense, and got into a great rhythm on offense. 10 different Celtics scored in the quarter, and Boston went into halftime up 49-45 thanks to an 8-2 run to end the 2nd quarter. Brad Stevens got some great play out of his bench, as they notched 15 of the Celts’ 27 second quarter points.
Milwaukee got the momentum back on their side in the 3rd, thanks mainly to a monster quarter from Ersan Ilyasova. He torched Boston for 16 points on 6 of 7 shooting. But not to be outdone, Jonas Jerebko put in 12 points of his own, not to mention hustling his ass off as usual. Things got chippy between the two teams and Boston had a 73-72 game heading into the final quarter of the regular season for both squads.
With no Isaiah Thomas tonight, who would Brad Stevens turn to in crunch time? Gigi. Gigi Datome scored a career-high 22 points in his first NBA start, including 12 in the decisive final frame. It was so enjoyable to watch a guy who has busted his butt on every play of every game he’s been in this year take things over and finish off the Bucks. Gigi is the anti-hero. A completely humble, down-to-earth dude who simply loves playing ball-and loves helping his team any way he can. C’s win in Milwaukee tonight 105-100. The Celtics begin their playoff quest this Sunday in Cleveland, and I for one cannot wait. GO CELTICS!
The Green:
- Gigi Datome was the man tonight. He scored a career-high 22 points as mentioned above
- Kelly Olynyk & Jonas Jerebko were huge off the bench. They combined for 32 points and 11 rebounds
- Marcus Smart’s scoring numbers don’t jump off the page, but his defense and energy were instrumental in tonight’s win. Smart had 7 points, 6 assists, 3 steals, 4 rebounds & 1 block
- The Celtics bench scored 57 points
The Gross:
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The Greenlights:
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The Grid: (quick stats)
- Celtics were 13 of 30 from three
- Rebounding: MIL 48 BOS 38
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