The Celtics rollercoaster ride of an opening night finished on a winning note as Giannis Antetokounmpo missed a potential game-tying free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining, helping Boston to hold on for a thrilling 122-121 victory. Jayson Tatum scored 30 points including the eventual game-winning 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds which Tatum hit from the left wing off glass against the reigning defensive player of the year in Antetokounmpo. Jaylen Brown also added a team-high 33 points to help the salvage hold on late after blowing a 17-point lead during the fourth quarter.
Jeff Teague fueled the bench offense with 18 points and 4 assists, helping the C’s keep pace with the Bucks offense in what ended up being a shootout for much of the night. Boston shot 45 percent from 3-point range.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics trailed by as many as nine points in the second quarter but closed out the half with a 27-13 run in the final seven minutes of the frame, after tightening things up on the defensive end and getting some big scoring from Brown.
TWO UP
Jeff Teague: The veteran point guard breathed life into the Celtics second unit for the majority of the first half. He scored 13 points and dished out three assists in only 13 minutes. He was also very active defensively with a pair of steals.
Jaylen Brown: The athletic swingman overcame a slow start (2-of-9 FG) to score 10 points in the final 2:32 of the first half and propel the C’s to overcome a nine-point first half deficit. Brown finished with a game-high 15 points in the first half.
TWO DOWN
Grant Williams: The reserve forward was constantly dared by the Bucks to fire from 3-point range (just like last season) but he was unable to make them pay consistently. He knocked down just one of his five open looks in the first half.
Transition defense in the first quarter: The Bucks shot a red-hot 58 percent in the first quarter in large part thanks to 9-of-11 shooting from inside the arc. The key to that high efficiency was a handful of leak outs after Celtics jump shots that led to wide open layups.
TOP PLAY
Okkkaaaayyy Semi ? pic.twitter.com/61iOh37qbq
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 24, 2020
PG: Marcus Smart
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Tristan Thompson
C: Daniel Theis
- Tristan Thompson was not on the Celtics injury report and is expected to make his Boston debut after missing the preseason with a hamstring injury. He will be on a minutes limit, but will start at power forward next to This. "Went through shootaround, went through practice," Thompson said. "In terms of playing tonight I’ve got to go through my routine, make sure I check all the boxes with the training staff. So things are looking like they’re going in the right direction. Of course we’ve got to see when I go through the warmup and they run the test on the hammy to make sure it clears all the protocols they have on the boxes and then if it does hopefully I’ll be able to suit up tonight."
- Tacko Fall will also be out for the Celtics due to an eye infection along with Walker and Langford. The Bucks will be missing key free addition DJ Augustin at backup point guard, which could force a more inexperienced reserve into action for the Bucks.
- Jayson Tatum does not want to overreact to the start of the season against a tough opponent but knows it will be a good test: "You want to win every game you play and you want to get better every game. But you not gonna win them all and it's the first game obviously. Regular season, it counts. But it doesn't make or break your season either way. So obviously, we're gonna learn a lot about ourselves tonight. But you go out there and compete first and foremost. Stick with our system. We just go from there," he said.
- The home opener will be the Celtics' first of three home games over their first nine games overall.