The Bucks looked to maintain their hold on the top seed in the East (well a tie for it at least) in their second game against the Celtics, this time at home in the return to the MECCA.
The Bucks starters were:
Khris Middleton
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Thon Maker
Tony Snell
Malcolm Brogdon
The Celtics starters were:
Jayson Tatum
Al Horford
Daniel Theis
Jaylen Brown
Kyrie Irving
Kyrie Irving started the scoring for the Celtics with a midrange jumper, but a Khris Middleton floater sparked a 7-2 run for the Bucks which put Milwaukee in the driver’s seat early on. The Celtics responded with 13 straight points of their own, though, and found themselves up 17-9 midway through the first as the Bucks couldn’t seem to buy a shot for a too-long stretch. After Boston’s 13-0 run, the Bucks scored 6 straight to regain some control, but the first quarter mostly belonged to the Celtics as they opened up a 28-23 lead. The defensive quarter was led by Kyrie with 9 points, and Middleton paced the Bucks with 6 early points. The Celtics also outshot the Bucks 50% to 42% and outrebounded them 13-8 to establish themselves early.
Giannis started the second quarter with a short jumper to pull the Bucks within a possession, and the game stayed very close and very low-scoring through the midway point when the Celtics led 34-30 (that’s right, just 8 Bucks points and just 6 Celtics points in a full 6 minutes). The pace picked up a bit after that (starting with a nice Delly 3), and the Bucks were finally able to tie it up at 39-39 with just under 4 minutes left in the half. Milwaukee finished the quarter on a 5-4 run to go into halftime with a slim 44-43 lead. Kyrie and Al Horford paced the Celtics with 16 and 11 points, respectively, while Giannis (11) and Brogdon (10) led the Bucks. The Bucks held the Celtics to 37% from the field and 20% from distance to cut down Boston’s lead and eventually overtake them.
Kyrie Irving kicked off the second half with a lay-in for the Celtics, but Giannis immediately responded with a midrange jumper. The Bucks opened the second half on a 10-5 run, and while the Celtics grabbed a lead in the first few minutes of the third quarter during that run, the Bucks maintained a strong 59-54 edge midway through. The Celtics hung tough, though, and after finding a bit of an offensive rhythm they were able to grab a 65-63 lead with a few minutes left in the quarter. Khris Middleton responded by tying it up for the Bucks, and two straight Greg Monroe baskets after that helped them briefly regain a lead, but the Celtics still went into the final quarter up 72-69 on the strength of an Al Horford buzzer-beater. Horford led both teams with 24 points, and Giannis and Kyrie weren’t far behind with 22 and 20, respectively.
Terry Rozier started the final quarter with a midrange jumper, and Mirza Teletovic followed immediately after with his first 3 of the game. The Celtics began the quarter on an 11-3 run, though, and led 83-75 midway through the fourth. The Bucks responded with a quick pair of 3-pointers to stop the bleeding, but a Horford 3 (more on that below) doused that comeback. The Bucks refused to go down after that and kept fighting, but the Celtics had no problem putting the game away with a 96-89 margin. Giannis led all scorers with 28 points (his season low) on 10-21 shooting, as well as 10 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block.
Three Big Things
Poise and the lack thereof – In their early-season victories, the Bucks were able to win because they did not break in the face of extreme pressure. When the Celtics went on an extremely early 13-0 run, it looked like Boston would dictate the pace all night long. The Bucks did just enough to hang on, though, until they were finally able to grab a lead late in the second quarter. In the second half, they didn’t give up any big scoreless runs, but they did give up a few big runs which cost them the game, including crucial runs at the end of the third and at the beginning of the fourth. They’ve been able to avoid these stretches in their wins, but if they can’t avoid them in games against playoff teams they can expect to lose like they did tonight.
Kyrie Irving and Al Horford – Kyrie Irving had a great game for the Celtics, scoring 24 on 10-18 shooting and also racking up 3 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, and a block. While Kyrie delivered something of a dagger in the fourth, it was actually Al Horford who denied the Bucks this game, with some crucial late threes to help him to 27 points on 11-14 (!) shooting, including 4-5 (!) from beyond the arc to go along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block. If the Celtics can get 50 points out of Kyrie/Horford every game, they should soon regain their form from last season.
Rebounding – The Bucks outshot the Celtics from both inside and beyond the arc, but they were heavily outrebounded 37-47, including a 2-6 disadvantage on offensive boards. While they outscored the Celtics 38-28 in the paint, they should have dominated this stat even more, which they would have if they’d grabbed more rebounds. The Bucks played some great 24-second defensive possessions that were negated by a Boston offensive rebound, and that’s not the type of play that top-4 teams give up multiple times in a game.
Plus/Minus Hero
John Henson – Henson was a bit of a quiet plus/minus hero tonight, as he only tallied a point and two rebounds in 16 minutes of action. He was a big defensive presence for the Bucks, though, and at +7 was the only Bucks player in the positive besides Malcolm Brogdon at +3. He didn’t even take a shot tonight, and if he can contribute a bit on the offensive end in his limited minutes he can really become a key player off the bench for the Bucks.
While the Bucks’ return to the MECCA was spoiled tonight, tune in at 2:30 PM CT on Sunday for the Bucks first afternoon game of the young season against the Hawks in Atlanta.