Recap: Celtics Finally Play a Good Fourth Quarter, Still Lose to Bucks, 121-119
Courtesy of Gary Dineen | NBAE via Getty Images
The Celtics kicked off their two game mini-series in Milwaukee losing a heartbreaker 121-119 on Wednesday night. Their comeback fell just short, despite some gritty play down the stretch.
Jaylen Brown led the way for the C’s with 24 points. Kemba Walker had a huge third quarter and finished with 23 of his own. Jayson Tatum had a rough night but showed up late. He finished with 18 points.
For Milwaukee, it was Khris Middleton leading the way with 27 points. Who else would it be? The man loves playing against Boston. Bobby Portis was playing like it was Game 1 of the 2017 first round. He lit the Celtics up for 21 points in just 17 minutes. The C’s did a good job of slowing down Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Greek Freak scored just 13 points on 4-11 shooting.
The Bucks came out firing, behind an early nine points from Brook Lopez. Luckily for the Celtics, so did Jaylen Brown. JB scored the first seven points for Boston. His offense helped the C’s keep up with Milwaukee’s fast start. They found themselves down just five, 17-12 at the first timeout of the night.
After the break, the Jaylen Brown show continued. He scored another seven to keep the pressure on Milwaukee. Daniel Theis got in on the fun too and scored a few baskets to help cut the lead to just three with 2:36 to go in the opening frame.
A few nice possessions from Giannis Antetokounmpo helped the Bucks stretch it back to five by the end of the quarter.
Milwaukee didn’t mess around to start off the second quarter. The got the lead up to eight before the Celtics started to chip away. During the comeback attempt Semi Ojeleye went down with a hip injury. He had to be walked back to the locker room.
Both teams exchanged blows for a few minutes before Khris Middleton decided to start torching Boston as he always has. He scored 10 straight for Milwaukee to help them build the lead back to 12. It eventually got all the way to 15 before Marcus Smart and Kemba Walker drilled back to back threes.
The Celtics found themselves down 11 at the half.
The second half got underway and it seemed like Boston was still in the locker room, at least their energy was. They let the Bucks start the half on an 11-2 run. The Celtics continued to struggle. They eventually allowed Milwaukee to build their lead to 25. The C’s buckled down and put together a 16-3 run behind some inspired play from Walker and Timelord. Walker scored 14 of his 23 points in the third quarter.
Despite the courageous comeback, the C’s were still looking at a 100-86 deficit heading into the fourth.
In the opening minutes of the final frame, the two teams battled back and forth with the Celtics clinging to a few Marcus Smart free throws. Boston was able to get the lead down to 11 as the Bucks took a timeout with about 9 minutes to play. It was Jeff Teague who kept the C’s in it after the timeout. He scored 5 straight for his squad to keep things within striking distance while Middleton drilled a few shots on the other end.
With just under five minutes to go, a Brown dunk cut the lead to eight and the home team needed another breather.
Milwaukee was able to stop the run for a few possessions before a Jayson Tatum and-1 cut the lead to just six with just over two minutes to play. On the very next possession, Walker drilled a huge three to cut the lead in half. Antetokounmpo did what superstar players do and responded with a big bucket for the Bucks. The next time down the floor it was Brown’s turn, he drilled a three to bring Boston within two. Theis got the C’s a big stop on defense, drawing a charge on Giannis. Both teams went cold all of a sudden and the Celtics found themselves with the ball and a chance to tie the game with 15 seconds to go. Marcus Smart drove the lane and had his shot blocked out of bounds with two seconds to go.
The C’s had to take a timeout to avoid a five second violation. They wound up turning the ball over but got a massive break when the Greek Freak just lost the ball.
They had one second to score and got a good look.
Unfortunately, Theis just couldn’t hit the shot.
The Celtics fell to the Bucks 121-119.
Head Coach Brad Stevens was disappointed that the team wasn’t able to play well early on. However, he thought his guys did a good job of “sticking together and battling back.”
Boston is back in action on Friday night when they get a chance for revenge against the Bucks. That game will tip at 7:30 and you can watch it on both NBC Sports Boston and ESPN.
