Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ 117-113 win over the Bucks at the TD Garden
Box Score
HEADLINES
Bucks fall for the first time all year: The visitors put up an impressive fight for the better part of four quarters, fighting back from double-digits on multiple occasions behind a huge night from Giannis Antetokounmpo (33 points), but ultimately a balanced Celtics offense was too much for them to overcome. Kyrie Irving (team-high 28 points) led six different Celtics in double figures that managed to outscore one of the best offensive teams in the league through the first three weeks.
C’s have a record-breaking night from downtown: The Celtics made 24 3-point field goals in the victory, a new franchise record that put them just one make shy of the NBA record for most 3s in the game. Irving led the way with six makes from downtown, Marcus Morris (17 points) added five, Al Horford (18 points) tallied four and eight different Celtics hit a shot from beyond the arc, stretching out the Bucks defense to the extreme, which led to the team’s best offensive performance of the year.
TURNING POINT
The Bucks had a chance to take the lead in the final minute of the game with a mismatch in the post with Khris Middleton posting up Irving. The point guard held his ground though and gambled with what made have been a foul. The refs didn’t by the semi-flop though by the Bucks guard and the C’s managed to nurse their slim lead with free throws and stops over the final 50 seconds of the win.
TWO UP
Kyrie Irving: The new haircut had the point guard reverting back to his All-Star form for the second straight night. He scored 21 of his team-high 28 points over the first three quarters, running circles around Eric Bledsoe as the C’s point guard continues to have his way with the Bucks backcourt for the second-straight season. Irving has now made nine 3-point field goals in his last two games, raising his 3-point percentage by over five points in those two contests.
Semi Ojeleye: The second-year forward got the spot start in place of an injured Jaylen Brown (foot) and immediately brought back memories of his impact last postseason against the Bucks. While he did well to keep Antetokounmpo from erupting on the offensive end, his biggest impact arguably came with his offense, cracking the double-digit scoring mark for the third time in his career. He finished a couple of shots with authority at the rim and knocked down a pair of triples, giving the C’s the kind of efficient offense they had been missing in the starting five in recent weeks.
TWO DOWN
Brook Lopez: The center has brought some life to the Bucks offense with his shooting on the perimeter but the Celtics exposed him on the defensive end by going small on Thursday night. He failed to close well on Al Horford on the perimeter early in the first half and his inability to hedge on the pick-and-roll also allowed Kyrie Irving to get going. Those struggles and a 1-of-4 shooting night earned him a spot on the bench for most of the second half.
Jayson Tatum in the first half: The second-year forward played a little too much isolation ball in the first half, settling for a lot of midrange contested jump shots that failed to go down. He went scoreless in the first half on 0-of-5 shooting, delivering what was easily his worst offensive performance of the year over the opening 24 minutes. He found his rhythm again in the second half on his way to 12 points on the night.
TOP PLAY
What a finish by Kyrie! ? pic.twitter.com/I7yZOlka7Z
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 2, 2018