BSJ Game Report: Celtics 111, Bucks 105 - Tatum takes over in fourth as C's pull away late

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Bucks, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown hit their first six shots and Brown scored 12 to give Boston a one-point lead after one. The Celtics missed all 12 of their 3-point attempts in the second quarter but amazingly only went into the half down 3. Shots started to fall for Boston but Giannis Antetokounmpo went off for 11 and the third quarter was played even. So was the fourth until about six minutes left when Boston went on 16-6 run to close the game.

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Perseverance: If it wasn’t one thing in this game, it was another for Boston. Damian Lillard got hot, they couldn't shoot at all in the second quarter, Antetokounmpo got going … the Celtics were hit with obstacle after obstacle in this game, but they found a way to hold on and finally make a run when it mattered most. 

“We've been through times where our shot maybe isn't falling the way we wanted to, knowing that we got a lot of good shots and they just weren't falling,” Jrue Holiday said. “But I think we rely on our defense a lot, being able to go onto the court and know that our defense can save us at any time or keep it close. Having guys over there like what they have, we got to lock in defensively, because they could kind of take off at any point. So think our defense held it down for us today.”

- Star gazing: What a game from both team’s stars. Giannis and Dame had their spectacular stretches as did Brown and Tatum. The Bucks stars combined for 61 and Boston’s dropped 59. The different was Tatum dropped 14 in the fourth with three assists while they combined for 10 points and two assists.

- Holiday haunts Bucks: The former Buck just loves handing it to his former teammates, finishing the night with 20 points and six assists. 

"I want to win,” Holiday said. “I love them. It's great seeing them. But every time I play them, and probably even more so because they're like my brothers. So I want to whoop their ass every time. And they know that, too. They feel the same way about me. I think it's just about being competitors. To be able to switch it on and off, I don't know. It's just like, 'Hey, bro, good to see you.' Once the game starts, it's like, 'Nah, we not friends anymore.'"

TURNING POINT 

Tatum drew a foul on Lillard with 5:21 to go to trigger a 16-6 run to close the game. He was the catalyst, finding Holiday with a nice pass for a layup and then going coast-to-coast to give Boston a lead. Then he started a great possession that ended with him getting a dunk (well, it goes down as a dunk because of the Antetokounmpo goaltend) to take the lead for good.

THINGS I LIKED

- Sticking with it: It’s fun to see this version of the Celtics. Two years ago this team would have fallen apart during an 0-12 from 3 quarter. They only lost it by six, but we’ve seen them lose quarters like that by 16 or more.

- Jayson Tatum, the closer: This was big-time stuff from Tatum. He was perfect from the field in the fourth quarter (5-5 overall, 2-2 3pt), dishing three assists and grabbing four rebounds. But that wasn’t all he did. Look at him guard Damian Lillard: 

There are so many things we can point to for the Celtics and say “this is why they're champs,” but maybe the top thing is that Boston’s superstar players play both ends of the floor. It’s hard to find one who does that consistently, never mind two. And both are doing it on the ball AND in help. 

This fourth quarter will definitely be part of the closing argument for Tatum’s MVP case. 34 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and a +14 against a tough opponent. What a game.

- Jaylen Brown: He started out hot and finished with 25 points, three rebounds, and three assists. He had some stretches of defense so good that it drew oohs and ahs from the crowd.

 My only critique of Brown’s game is that I think he got a little too caught up in the emotions of it after his interaction with Antetokounmpo earned him a tech. It’s hard to blame him in that moment, but he did slip into “do too much” mode for a little bit there. 

- Jrue Holiday: He was huge in closing out his former team, scoring nine of his 20 in the fourth quarter. Before the game, he admitted that his knee soreness might be from doing a lot between the championship run and the Olympics. That he had this game after a day off does raise the question of whether a few more strategic off days for him might be a good idea. The Celtics are deep enough to handle it. 

- Al Horford: This man loves playing Giannis and the Bucks. He always finds another gear. His 3-pointer after Antetokounmpo inexplicably pulled up for a 3 was massive, and he followed it up by switching onto Khris Middleton and then blocking his layup with a little more than a minute left. 

- Sam Hauser: I’m not going to pretend he had the best all-around game because he had some rough stretches, especially on the defensive end. But he also made a few good defensive plays and he didn’t let it impact his shooting. He scored 16 points on 4-8 shooting from 3. He also had the strip on Antetokounmpo (officially, it was a blocked shot because Giannis was in his gather) that ultimately went to Boston upon review.

- Neemias Queta: How about him switching onto Lillard and doing a decent job? He didn’t play much but he had some really nice defensive moments.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Payton Pritchard: Rough night for him. Oh well, it happens. It does make my Spidey Senses tingle, though, because it came against a team with good length. He’ll probably bounce back with 25 against Memphis tomorrow so I’m not worried about it, but I do still think there are going to be matchups that bother him. 

- Derrick White: He actually played well in this game but he shot 1-10. I don’t like 1-10 shooting, so his night goes in this section. But he has seven assists and three steals, so again, this isn’t a criticism of his overall play. 

- Jaylen Brown biting on Middleton’s upfake: It didn’t cost the C’s in the long run, but with the Celtics up five with :24 left, Brown just has to be smarter than that. Middleton is older and playing in his first game of the season, an athlete of Brown’s caliber can wait until Middleton actually jumps to challenge the shot. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The Celtics can really make teams do desperate things.

The whole league is aware of what the Celtics are capable of. Their 3-point shooting is one of the hottest topics to start this season and everyone is aware of what Tatum and Brown can do when either of them get going. 

So with Tatum cooking, Boston’s 3-pointers starting to fall, and Horford and Holiday making plays down the stretch, the Bucks began to look desperate. 

Lillard, one of the league’s most notorious clutch player, went 2-8 in the fourth quarter. None of his 3-point attempts looked particularly close and he resorted to trying to draw fouls instead of make shots. Antetokounmpo pulled up for a 3-pointer with 1:35 to go and Boston overtaking the lead. 

I think teams have an “oh crap” meter in their heads when it comes to playing the Celtics, and when the Celtics start putting it together to go on a run, it goes off and it makes them do dumb things. Maybe teams need to pull the zombie movie trick of finding the one person immune to it, in this case Donovan Mitchell, and study him to see what the trick is. 

There is no trick, really. It’s hard to keep one’s wits when the Celtics are doing what they do. Even if they haven't been doing it all game, five minutes of it will be enough to drive a team mad. If they're not careful, they become the Scanners movie meme where their heads explode. 

I looked at the Bucks down the stretch and saw a team that didn’t know how to win this game. I think part of that is because of the pressure Boston puts on teams with their style of play. 

Next up: The Celtics stretch of six games in nine nights mercifully comes to an end tomorrow night against Memphis.