https://twitter.com/NBARefStats/status/987553411733209088
4 takeaways from the Bucks’ Game 3 shellacking of the Celtics
Milwaukee avoided a 3-0 series deficit with a 24-point win.
COMMENTARY
After taking control of Game 2, the Celtics looked like a completely different team Friday night against the Bucks.
Milwaukee jumped out to a dominant 27-12 lead after the first quarter and held on for a convincing 116-92 victory. Boston struggled to command the paint throughout the game, settling for jump shots and three-pointers early. The team missed seven attempts from behind the arc in the first quarter.
“We have to do a better job responding on Sunday and we will,” Celtics guard Terry Rozier told reporters after the game.
Here’s what we learned from Boston’s loss:
Home court can make a difference.
The Celtics had anticipated playing in Milwaukee would be tough.
Advertisement:
“It’s going to be a hostile environment,” rookie Jayson Tatum told reporters during shootaround. “I’ve never played on the road in the playoffs, but I can only imagine their crowd is going to be behind them like our crowd was behind us. It’s going to give them that extra energy.”
To account for that change in atmosphere, Al Horford said before tip-off the team needed to play “even more locked in” than they were in Game 2.
But the Celtics looked out of place during the first quarter, making just two of their 18 shot attempts and scoring only 12 points. Boston also turned the ball over nine times, including Rozier’s first of the series. After 78 minutes of basketball without a turnover, Rozier had five in Game 3.
Advertisement:
“We have a young team and we didn’t know what to expect,” forward Marcus Morris told reporters after the game. “First road game in the playoffs and it got loud. We made a couple of mistakes and they made shots.”
The Celtics went 28-13 (.683) on the road during the regular season, behind only the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors for the league’s best away record.
The Bucks wanted it more.
After Milwaukee lost Game 2, coach Joe Prunty told reporters he thought Boston played harder from the jump. The tables turned, however, in Game 3.
It was obvious just minutes into the first quarter the Bucks were trying to be more physical and control the pace of the game. In a stark contrast to how the teams looked at the TD Garden, Boston was now the group who seemed checked out and Milwaukee was the group who seemed checked in.
“We realized how important this game was,” center Giannis Antetokounmpo told reporters after avoiding a 3-0 series deficit. “I think that everyone who played, who came in, was ready to go and brought the energy.”
Rozier said that the Celtics took some early “punches to the mouth” and never responded. The fiery Bucks set the tone and maintained their palpably high-level of intensity throughout the game.
Advertisement:
“They had a game plan to come out and play very hard,” Rozier said. “And it worked.”
The Celtics’ spirits didn’t appear to be defeated, despite their beatdown in Game 3, and the players seemed anxious to respond in Game 4 at the BMO Harris Bradley Center Sunday afternoon.
“We feel like we could have played a lot better than what we did,” Jaylen Brown said. “All year we’ve been playing hard. We’ve been the harder playing team, so why stop now? We can’t wait until Sunday, just been doing what we’ve been doing all year.”
The Bucks addressed some of their plaguing problems.
Not only did Milwaukee limit their turnovers to a series low, but the team also had a number of reserves make significant contributions off the bench.
With center John Henson sidelined due to a sore back, former Celtics center Tyler Zeller got the start. But it was a performance from 7-foot-1 Thon Maker that made the difference. Maker logged 24 minutes off the bench, scoring 14 points and blocking five shots.
“He not only had the blocks, the energy, but he hit some big shots,” Prunty said after the game. “He made a lot of plays on both sides of the ball that are critical in terms of winning the game, in terms of hustle plays. I keep mentioning the blocks, but those are plays where he’s running from behind sometimes. He wasn’t always there meeting somebody, he was just continuing to stay in the play.”
Advertisement:
Prunty praised Maker’s “energy” and “activity,” after the 21-year-old played only a minute during the first two games. Maker had a team high plus-minus (+23).
Matthew Dellavedova — who was recently cleared to play after recovering from a right ankle injury — and Jabari Parker also impacted the game off the bench. Dellavedova entered the game after Eric Bledsoe picked up two early fouls and gave the Celtics trouble with his feisty on-the-ball defense, while Parker scored 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
“Jabari came in, didn’t try to force anything, and allowed the game to come to him,” Prunty said. “We had a good rhythm to the game and everybody who stepped on the floor continued that. For Jabari, those are the things we’ve talked about and those are the things we need.”
“Good win. Lot of positives tonight. Quick turnaround so we’ll have to be ready to do it again on Sunday.”
More from Joe Prunty on Game 3: pic.twitter.com/8XdRlYWhby
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 21, 2018
The Celtics don’t seem pleased with the officiating.
Morris was whistled for a technical foul in the third-quarter after he said something following a missed free-throw attempt by Maker. The forward was visibly frustrated and clearly disagreed with the call.
“I can’t even speak on it, man,” Morris told reporters after the game. “It’s been the same s— all year. I’m expecting it. [The referees] knew what they wanted before the game started. They knew who they wanted to go after. So that’s on them.”
Having been ejected twice during the final stretch of the regular season, Morris has previously expressed his dissatisfaction with how the refs have handled interactions between opposing players.
“At the end of the day, we’re grown men, and it’s the NBA,” he told reporters after getting tossed against the Bulls earlier in April. “It’s not college. It’s not high school. If we’re having a conversation, we’re allowed to speak. We weren’t saying anything that was harmful or anything. He said what he had to say, and I said what I had to say. We were both doing what we were doing, and the refs just felt like they had to take control of it. I just felt that was too much.”
Advertisement:
Morris, however, did not try to pin Friday night’s loss on the referees, saying the Bucks won “fair and square.”
Horford also appeared to have thoughts on the officiating but opted not to share in fear of getting fined.
This is about as furious as I’ve seen Al Horford. Really getting frustrated by the lack of calls.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) April 21, 2018
“I can’t answer,” he said, with a laugh, when asked about the refs. “If I want to give money, I’ll give it to charity, not the NBA. Maybe I can say it in Spanish and it will be fine.”
