The Boston Celtics came out against the Milwaukee Bucks much as they have the last few games — listless and unengaged.
So the Bucks squared up, and planted a big, fat knuckle sandwich in their collective mouth.
It looked bad — real bad. So bad Boston was on pace to let a team shoot 60 % or better against them for the second consecutive night. So bad, the team chalked up its biggest deficit of the season at 27 points by the six-minute mark of the season.
League-leading Milwaukee went into halftime with a 76-58 lead, Boston’s defense in disarray and offense consisting of chucking up 3-pointers seconds into a possession.
106 points allowed through 3 quarters is the second most surrendered by the Celtics under Brad Stevens. Gave up 108 points to the Thunder on 3/18/16, per @bball_ref. They've only given up more than 105 twice in the last couple decades. https://t.co/2QR9ZgKG9Z
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) January 17, 2020
Then, in the third, the Celtics began to show signs of life.
Little by little, they began to pass the ball on one end and communicate on defense on the other, and good things started to happen.
By the five-minute mark of the penultimate frame, Boston cut the game to six, and it looked like they might make a game of it. Milwaukee would have none of it though, fighting off the Celtics each time they threatened to cut the game to a single possession.
Ultimately, the team that came out and played hard from the opening tip won the day, but the Celtics could have stolen this one if they’d simply done the same.
Brad Stevens says that our second-half play was “more Celtics basketball than I’ve seen in a while.”
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 17, 2020
They were led by an outstanding offensive night by point guard Kemba Walker, who dropped 40 points and 11 rebounds on the Bucks in the losing effort.
Swingman Jayson Tatum chipped in 17 points and 7 boards while fellow Jay Teamer Jaylen Brown sat with a (hopefully) sprained thumb, while Marcus Smart added 24 points.
Giannis Antetokounmpo put up yet another absurd-yet-normal stat line with 32 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks, with forward Khris Middleton adding 23 points and 7 rebounds.
Reserve guard Donte DiVincenzo had 19 points off the bench for Milwaukee.
The Boston Celtics next play the Phoenix Suns at TD Garden on Saturday, at 7pm ET.
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