Everything you need to know about the Celtics' loss to the Bucks, with BSJ insight and analysis.
IN A NUTSHELL
The team exchanged runs early on, but Boston took a six-point lead into the second thanks to Jaylen Brown’s late burst. The dueling runs continued in the second quarter, with Kyle Kuzma keeping Milwaukee within seven at halftime. The Celtics went ice-cold in the third, while the Bucks got hot and confident to flip the score and go up seven. The Celtics never could get it going after that.
HEADLINES
- Streak crashes to a halt: I don’t know what happened at halftime, but the Celtics looked out of sorts. They looked nothing like the team that everyone has been gushing about the past few days. It was there for stretches in the first half, but nowhere near enough for it to matter or keep their five-game winning streak going.
- Getting in Boston’s head: The Bucks were talking trash, and I think the Celtics fell into that a little too much. Kuzma, Bobby Portis, and Kevin Porter, Jr. all had moments of trying to rile up the Celtics, and it felt like Boston’s response was to go 1-on-1 rather than play team basketball.
- Make/Miss league: The Celtics went 0-12 from 3 in the third quarter and 3-14 in the fourth. That's just ridiculously brutal shooting. Meanwhile, the Bucks shot 7-12 from 3 in the second half. Boston took 11 more shots overall and 14 more 3-pointers, but lost the half by 22 because they shot 26% after halftime.
Between the trash-talking and all the misses, it’s no wonder the Celtics lost their composure.
TURNING POINT
Halftime. Well, we’ll start it at the 10:15 mark of the third quarter with Boston up 71-60. The Bucks out-scored Boston 27-9 after that. Kuzma (11 in the 3rd) started the festivities and Portis (7 in the 3rd) ended them.
THINGS I LIKED
- Winning margins: Nothing screams “make/miss” quite like getting nine more shot attempts, 20 more 3-point attempts, eight more made free throws, eight more offensive rebounds, two more steals, and turning it over two fewer times than your opponent and losing. This is one where the “expected’ numbers will tell a completely different story than the actual results.
- Jaylen Brown: Another 30-point night and he did it efficiently. He was 10-17 from the field, 2-4 from 3, and 8-9 from the line. The funny thing is, though, that while I’m putting Brown’s game in this section, I didn’t really like it all THAT much. I thought he got too caught up in matchup-hunting, and he could have been more effective moving the ball a little more.
- Jordan Walsh’s first half: He was 7-7 from the field and led Boston with 18 points. He disappeared in the second half, scoring just 2 on 1-3 shooting. But I did like his energy early on. His defense was unreal to start the game.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE
