The Celtics were down their top four point guards in Milwaukee on Tuesday night and still gave themselves a chance against a rested Bucks team at the Bradley Center. However, pivotal plays by Giannis Antetokounmpo (29 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists) on both ends of the floor in crunch time help to seal a 106-102 victory for the hosts. Boston had their six-game winning streak come to an end and missed a chance to close the deficit for the top seed in the East to one game after the Raptors fell in Cleveland.
Jaylen Brown had a team-high 24 points for the undermanned visitors, who led by as many as nine points in the first quarter before the offense stalled in the third quarter (15 points) which helped the Bucks seize control for most of the second half. Kadeem Allen played respectable in his first career start while filling in for Terry Rozier (ankle) but tough shooting nights from Marcus Morris (4-of-16) and Jayson Tatum (5-of-13) proved to be too much to overcome.
The C's will be back in action on Wednesday night in Toronto as they have one final chance to keep themselves in the mix for the top seed against the Raptors.
GAME: No. 77 of 82
WHO: Celtics (53-23) vs. Bucks (41-36)
WHEN: 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden
RADIO: 100.7 WZLX
TV: NBC Sports Boston
Celtics
PG: Kadeem Allen
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Bucks
PG: Eric Bledsoe
SG: Tony Snell
F: Khris Middleton
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: John Henson
First Half Notes
- Kadeem Allen held his own nicely in his first career shot. He was not hesitant with the ball on offense, scoring his first bucket of the game early on a drive and dished out a couple of assists. His 3-point shot wasn't falling, but that's not really his bread and butter anyway.
- I have long been an advocate of avoiding the Bucks in the first round and we saw a little bit why during this first half. Lots of length and good shot making all over the floor. C's had no one that could hang with Khris Middleton defensively, while Eric Bledsoe, Giannis and John Henson combined to shoot roughly 80 percent from the field.
- C's tried 2-3 zone a few times but went away from it pretty quickly. There was a couple times it looked like the backline was confused about zone or man-to-man which led to an easy 3 for Jason Terry. Bucks shot 50 percent from deep early.
- Greg Monroe gave Tyler Zeller nightmares in the post when he was a member of the Bucks. The two squads switched sides tonight but the same trend continued. Nice moves down low by the big man.
- Milwaukee's defense is still a bit of a mess, as it has been all year. Balanced scoring (double-digit points for Brown, Tatum, Morris in first half) came by the way of a lot of easy looks at the rim. This group has length and is aggressive but they can't string together stops, which is surprising for a team without its four best point guards.
- Terry Rozier was a late scratch after experiencing some stiffness in his sprained left ankle following shootaround. Tonight will mark the first game he has missed all year long.
- Kadeem Allen will get his first career start in place of Rozier. The rookie has only played 37 total minutes all year, spending most of his time with the Maine Red Claws. He becomes the 13th different player to start a game for the Celtics this year.
- Shane Larkin remains back in Boston as he continues to recover from flu-like symptoms. He could rejoin the team in Toronto on Wednesday night, if he's feeling better by then. The point guard spent the weekend in the hospital due to the symptoms.
- Tonight's matchup marks a potential first round preview for both squads as the Bucks are tied for the seventh seed in the East with just five games remaining on the NBA calendar.