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Recap: Celtics fight hard, but can’t overcome Bucks

Alex Kungu February 8, 2015 Celtics News, Gametime, Recaps 28 Comments

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

The Grid: (quick stats)

Celts’ bench had 42 points
Including the All-Star break, Celts now have just 1 game over next 12 days

Box score

NE_Celt

I hate to see them lose but this game was a win for me. It showed that the team is coming together and learning to play as a team. Also Stevens is figuring out how to use his guys and when. The past couple of weeks their fourth quarters have been strong, and they have been in control. And on a tail end of a back-to-back, back-to-back, these guys put in some real hustle. This is more of a moral victory then those early losses we were trying to call moral victories.

And how bout that Greek freak! That kids gonna be something.
- Dirk Diggler
  
  Except the ongoing problem is that Bradley and Sullinger have no business taking the shots they take late in the 4th quarter. Bradley bricked two wide open threes and Sully yet again couldn’t even hit rim on an inadvertent three late in the 4th. Not one of those shots had a prayer of going in. Thornton should be in over Bradley and Crowder should’ve been playing PF with Zeller at the 5. I can’t believe this team continually shoots themselves out of games by giving the green light to those two scrubs in crunch time.
  - José Paz
    
    You may want to check Bradley’s stats in clutch time. He averages 47.4 FG% and 42.9 3P% per NBA.com. That’s actually about the league’s best. So no, Bradley’s not the ongoing problem here. And yes, Bradley does have a business taking shots late in the 4th quarter.
    - Dirk Diggler
      
      Yeah man, those two wide open bricks with the game on the line were wicked clutch.
      - José Paz
        
        Have I said that?
    - KGino
      
      Bradley haters only come out after his bad games… Dude is our most consistent offensive player, if he has a wide open 3 in the 4th I expect him to take it 100% of the time. It’s those long twos that he takes too many of
  - zippittyay
    
    Bradley and Sullinger *shouldn’t* be taking wide open 3s late in the game? You still mad they’re not missing KO so much?
  - NE_Celt
    
    Bradley has been shooting pretty good lately, but his legs werent there for this game. And Sully taking 3’s at this point in the game, I am against as well. But really…this team has no real go-to guy or clutch shooter…Thornton I would def want shooting over Sully. Just how it is im afraid.
    - Dirk Diggler
      
      How does a 24 year old guard in good physical shape have no legs in that game? In terms of a go-to-guy, yeah you’re right but Thornton, Smart, Olynyk, Bass, and Zeller are all better options than Bradley and Sullinger. Sorry guys but that’s the truth.
JETSON

People may disagree but I’m tired of seeing Bradley in at the end of close games. The following is our best lineup because these guys can all score from almost anywhere on the court and play defense reasonably well.

PG – Turner
SG – Thornton
SF – Prince
PF – Crowder
C – Zeller
Dirk Diggler

Sometimes I wonder if these A Badley fans actually watch the games. I’ve seen enough 3-14 shooting nights from him to last a lifetime.
swissflix

Anybody still wants Olynyk over Giannis? Sorry, Danny but that was a bad miss.
swissflix

Anybody still wants Olynyk over Giannis? Sorry Danny, but that was a bad miss.
- zippittyay
  
  I normally defend our selection of draft picks and maybe Giannis can be classified as a bigger risk that has paid off and we chose the safer route, but I would have to agree with you.
- Dirk Diggler
  
  2014-2015 season Per 36 minute stats:
  
  Points Per Game — Olynyk (16.3) Giannis (14.7)
  
  Field Goal Percentage —- Olynyk (.506) Giannis (.510)
  
  Three Point Percentage —- Olynyk (.353) Giannis (.179) <— LOL!
  
  Rebounds — Olynyk (7.9) Giannis (8.0)
  
  Assists — Olynyk (2.5) Giannis (2.9)
  
  Steals — Olynyk (1.5) Giannis (1.1)
  
  Blocks — Olynyk (1.1) Giannis (1.3)
  
  And let's consider the fact Olynyk is on a lesser team with less players to create space and set him up with great shots. And the fact Olynyk is consistently blackballed by league officials.
  
  I'll take Kelly.
  - swissflix
    
    Who gives a shit about numbers. Watch the game and accept reality.
    - Dirk Diggler
      
      The stats are reality. The fact that Kelly is literally twice as good of a shooter than the Greek is reality. Your selective memory is distorted because you see one player that can jump really high and run really fast compared to the other who is a goofy looking Canadian with long hair. For shame, because Kelly is a hell of a player and his offensive skills are much more polished and on an entirely different level than the Greek’s. Well, you can always jump ship and go root for the Bucks.
      - swissflix
        
        Per 36 minutes stats are a joke and do not reflect the reality of a basketball game. It’s about how a player is able to affect a game. Best example would be Smart whose stats aren’t very impressive either. Giannis really set the tone in this game.
        “jump ship and go root for the bucks” lol
      - Dirk Diggler
        
        Kelly has set the tone and has affected many games for the Celtics. I personally saw him light up Orlando in Rondo’s last game at The Garden. In fact, he had an awesome dunk which showcased just how athletic he is. He’ll prove you, and many other doubters wrong. And I say that confidently.
      - swissflix
        
        Look, i like Klynyk a lot. I think he is a very good and creative passer and just a very fundamental basketball player. However, i also get the impression that his success largely depends on who he plays against. He struggles against athletic players. He can run but not jump.
        But i am more than happy to be proven wrong:)
        But then again…a backcourt with Smart, AB, Giannis…woww..
      - Dirk Diggler
        
        Na, look at the game logs. Some of Kelly’s better games of the year have come against Cleveland, Toronto, Chicago, Washington, and Memphis.
      - swissflix
        
        http://www.nba.com/2015/news/02/09/antetokounmpo-westbrook-players-of-the-week/?ls=iref:nbahppt
      - swissflix
        
        Oh, and i never said Olynyk is a bad player. I like him a lot but Giannis is just better.
      - Dirk Diggler
        
        Well, that’s just your opinion man ..
  - zippittyay
    
    I’ll take the guy who just got named eastern conference player of the week.
- KGino
  
  I wouldn’t say a “bad miss”. I say he had a good draft given all the crap talent in that draft. The freak was a huge risk at the time, I don’t blame Danny. It’s always easier in hindsight
  - swissflix
    
    True. But it’s also true that he missed out on both Schröder AND Giannis and as a GM he just must have had them on his radar at some point before the draft. He should have known better.
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