BSJ Game Report: Bucks 116. Celtics 101 - Second half disaster ends Boston's win streak

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. 

Box Score

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

- Stagnant offense: Here’s one stat that will tell you a lot about how the second half went: Walsh got seven shots and Minott three in the first half. Walsh got three in the second half and Minott got one. Those guys get looks when the ball moves. When the Celtics are isolating, their shots dry up. 

- Lack of mental discipline: This is tough, but the Celtics have to stick with what works. They have a formula and if they stray from it, they get burned. The Celtics ran certain set plays early on that were producing good looks and then they turned the second half into a big pigeon hunt. 

- Points off turnovers: Boston forced two more turnovers but lost the points off turnovers by seven. The Bucks converted their opportunities while the Celtics couldn't. 

- Sam Hauser: Woof, what a terrible night for Hauser in front of his home crowd. I don’t know if he had too much beer cheese soup or what, but he finished 0-10 from the field, with nine of those misses from 3 and one missed layup. That missed layup came on a possession where he got two great looks, the Celtics got offensive rebounds, and he then missed a gimme to really hammer home how painful he was in this game. 

HIGHLIGHTS

TWO TAKES KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Where was Jordan Walsh when Bobby Portis was talking his trash?

So Portis did this in the third quarter: 

Where the hell was Jordan Walsh? He wants to be the energy guy. He wants to be the wild card. Where was he when Portis turned around and got up in your superstar’s face? 

Remember when Walsh got ejected from a summer league game and made it seem like he was an “I want all the smoke” guy? Where was that intensity and desire to get in someone’s face here? 

I’m not saying he had to fight Portis or get ejected. The NBA of 2025 isn’t going to tolerate any kind of serious escalation. But that doesn’t mean you let someone from the other team punk your star without standing up for your teammate. 

No one did anything. No one said a peep. And the Bucks had the mental edge the rest of the way. 

Maybe it’s the ’80s basketball deep in my soul that aches in moments like this, but someone somewhere had to say something in that moment. I’m disappointed. 

- Maybe the break was bad for the Celtics?

One thing about the grind of what Boston just went through is that it forced them to just put their heads down and work. They definitely needed this time off, but it was also an opportunity to sit and listen to everyone glaze them for a few days (hey, I used a youthful term correctly there!). 

They say praise can be just as damaging as criticism. Maybe listening to all the fawning got them a little too full of themselves against a team missing an MVP candidate. 

Next Up: The Celtics have three more days off before hosting the Pistons Monday night.