C's Destroyed The Bucks 109-81 In Game 7 To Advance To The Eastern Conference Final Vs. Heat

 

    After a predictable choke job by the Bruins against the Hurricanes in Game 7 of their first round playoff series on Saturday, thankfully the Celtics did the exact opposite as they ran over the Bucks to the tune of 109-81 yesterday afternoon at TD Garden in Game 7 of their second round playoff series. For the second time in three years, Boston advances to the Eastern Conference Final where they will once again meet Miami but at least this time it is not in the bubble. For the second time against Milwaukee in this round, Celts power forward Grant Williams had the game of his life with a game-high (and career-high) 27 points along with seven made three-pointers (another career-high). Bucks superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was finally bottled up (at least scoring-wise) as he had 25 points, 20 rebounds, nine assists, two steals but also five turnovers. 

    The C's started very slowly as they trailed 26-20 after a rock fight of a first quarter. They woke up in the second quarter and led by a slim five-point margin (48-43) after wily point guard Marcus Smart (11 points, 10 assists, 7 rebounds) drew a shooting foul in the closing seconds on a shot from half-court. He made all three free throws and that propelled his team into an incredible second half. Boston blitzed Milwaukee in the third quarter (31-21) and really opened things up in the fourth quarter (30-17) as they were on fire on three-pointers (22-of-55 for 40%) while the Bucks were ice cold (4-of-33 for 12.1%) from downtown. The Celtics' two stars-small forward Jayson Tatum (23 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals)-were good not great but they didn't have to be other-worldly with Williams' amazing performance along with contributions from other guys like center Al Horford (10 rebounds, 6 assists) and point guard Payton Pritchard (14 points, 5 rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench). 

    Milwaukee's point guard Jrue Holiday (21 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) closed out a very solid series for him with another fine outing although he was 0-for-6 on three pointers. Bucks center Brook Lopez had a double double with 15 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks while backup center Bobby Portis was the only other guy on Milwaukee in double figures with 10 points and six rebounds off the bench. I don't know if he would have made enough of a difference to change the outcome of the series but you can bet that at least if Bucks small forward Khris Middleton had played in Game 7, they would have made it much more competitive. It wasn't a surprise to see Boston win-they were the betting favorite after all on their home court-but to see the defending champions go down in flames was unexpected to say the least. 

    The Celtics led Game 7 by as much as 28 points and they dished out nine more assists than the Bucks (29-20) so you have to say that the better team ultimately won. C's center Robert Williams was technically active for the first time since Game 3 against Milwaukee but he never saw the floor. I believe that if it was a closer game, Celts head coach Ime Udoka at least would have thrown him out there for a few timely minutes. It was a best case scenario for that Williams since now he gets a few more days to get better and they will definitely need him against Heat center Bam Adebayo who is an absolute Celtics killer. Miami is the top seed in the Eastern Conference so they have home court and with their star small forward Jimmy Butler and shooting guard Tyler Herro (the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year this season), they have given Boston fits in recent years. However, after mowing down the Nets and surviving a long battle with the Bucks, now is the perfect time for the Celtics to eliminate the Heat and reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010. It should be a hell of a series and there is no rest for the weary as it begins tomorrow night (8:30, ESPN) in Miami with each game coming every other day for the entire series.

Horford Goes Toe-To-Toe With Giannis & A Huge Fourth Quarter Helps The C's Tie The Series 2-2

 

    The beauty of the playoffs in sports, even in the usually predictable NBA is that you never really know what's going to happen on a given day. Take last night for example as Boston rallied for an amazing 116-108 victory at the Fiserv Forum in Game 4 of their second-round series with Milwaukee. The huge fourth quarter by the Celtics (where they outscored the Bucks 43-28) allowed them to even up the series at two games apiece while also taking back the home court advantage that they lost when Milwaukee stunned them in Game 1. Few would argue that Bucks superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (game-high 34 points, game-high 18 rebounds, 5 assists) is the best basketball player in the world these days but incredibly, 35-year-old Celts center Al Horford (who most thought was washed up when he was traded back here last summer) nearly matched him with a playoff career-high 30 points and eight rebounds.

    Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum (30 points, team-high 13 rebounds, 5 assists) had his best game of the series but there is little doubt that this will be remembered forever in Celtics playoff lore as "The Al Horford Game." Boston's point guard Marcus Smart (18 points, 8 assists, 2 blocks) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (18 points) were both good as well while backup point guard Derrick White had his best playoff performance for the C's with 11 points off the bench. Part of the reason that Boston won is because they did not allow any of the other Bucks to really go off: center Brook Lopez was the next highest scorer for the home team with 17 points and seven rebounds, point guard Jrue Holiday had decent numbers (16 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 3 steals) but he shot a pathetic 5-of-22 from the floor. Meanwhile, shooting guard Wesley Matthews added 12 points while Arlington's own Pat Connaughton notched 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench for the reigning world champions. This was a contest where you could clearly see that Milwaukee dearly missed its second best player-small forward Khris Middleton-who is still out with a sprained MCL. 

    I wouldn't say that Boston stole this game since they outworked Milwaukee in crunch time so they earned that coveted road playoff win. However, if I was a Bucks fan I would feel that they let this one slip away since they led for most of the game before falling apart in the fourth quarter when it mattered most. Milwaukee was up 25-18 after a low scoring first quarter then Boston cut it to a one-point margin at halftime (48-47 Bucks). Milwaukee took control again in the third quarter (32-26) but that only set the stage for the best quarter of the postseason for the Celts. The numbers don't lie since the C's owned a majority of the most important stats: they shot nine percent better from the field (50%-41%), they hit five more 3-pointers (14-9), hit their free throws at a higher rate (90%-77%) and handed out seven more assists (25-18) with three more fast break points (16-13) than the Bucks. 

    It's crazy how fast a series can shift because if the Bucks had won Game 4, it basically would have been over. Winning three straight playoff games against Milwaukee would be nearly impossible. Instead, Boston has a great opportunity to take control tomorrow night (7, TNT) in Game 5 in what should be another electric atmosphere at the TD Garden. You wonder if the Bucks will try and get Middleton back at some point this week. The Celtics actually announced a few hours before Game 4 that center Robert Williams was out with left knee soreness (his surgically repaired left knee, not great!) but that turned out to be not much of a factor. Neither team has won two games in a row this round so hopefully the C's can flip that trend and put the Bucks on the brink of elimination with another outstanding team performance.

C's Respond In A Big Way, Rolling To A 109-86 Game 2 Win To Even The Series With The Bucks

 

    I'm not predicting banner 18 quite yet so you don't have to start planning the duck boat parade but still, the Celtics performance last night in Game 2 of their second round playoff series with Milwaukee is what championship teams do. Boston learned from their humbling defeat in Game 1 and fought back for an emphatic 109-86 victory to even things up at 1-1. A few hours before the game, we learned that the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year-Celtics guard Marcus Smart-was out for the game with a thigh contusion (yeah right, it's gotta be something much more significant than that). It seemed like an ominous sign with the home team facing essentially a must-win but as it turned out, he was hardly needed at all. This being the NBA, there is an insane amount of time off before Game 3 in Milwaukee which won't occur until Saturday afternoon (3:30, ABC) but at least we can talk about this awesome win rather than be miserable for the rest of the work week.   

    Playing in front of an electric TD Garden crowd, the Celts never really gave the Bucks a chance to breath as they led from start to finish. Their two stars-shooting guard Jaylen Brown (game-high 30 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and swingman Jayson Tatum (29 points, 8 assists, 3 steals)-were both way better than on Sunday (particularly Brown) but the real story was third-year power forward Grant Williams who helped contain Milwaukee's two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (team-high 28 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 6 turnovers) on the defensive end and dropped a career-high 21 points (including six 3-pointers!) on the offensive end in 35 super productive minutes off the bench. Veteran center Al Horford added a double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and a game-high four steals. This final result was never really in doubt as the C's led by as many as 26 points (72-46 early in the third quarter) and the closest that the Bucks could get it in the fourth quarter was 12 points (94-82).

    Brown was invisible in Game 1 with 12 forgettable points so he made sure right away that he would show up in Game 2. He was on fire from the start with 25 points in the first half as Boston cruised to a 32-21 lead after the first quarter which they parlayed into a 25-point advantage at halftime (65-40)! The defending NBA champs were not completely fazed as they chipped away in the third quarter (26-18) but nobody could step up for the visitors and they slowly folded in the fourth (getting outscored 26-20). Milwaukee point guard Jrue Holiday (19 points, 7 assists, 2 steals) predictably came back down to Earth a bit as did their gritty big man Bobby Portis (13 points, 8 rebounds). St. John's Prep alum and shooting guard Pat Connaughton was the only other Buck to score in double figures as the former Orioles draft pick added a sneaky 13 points off the bench. 

    The easiest stat to point to was three-pointers as Boston made a whopping 17 more (20-3) than Milwaukee. The ball movement by the Celtics was absolutely gorgeous as they had 12 more assists (28-16) while their defense stepped up with six more steals (10-4) than the Bucks who had five more turnovers (16-11) which led to seven more points off turnovers (24-17) for the Celts. NBA playoff games are all about adjustments so now the question will be which version of these teams will show up for the next two games in Milwaukee. There was no way that this series would end in a sweep, you might as well settle in since this will most likely take a long time to determine the ultimate winner. 

After Milwaukee's 101-89 Win In Game 1, Boston Is Going To Have Their Hands Full With The Bucks

 

    I was told that the Celtics had a clear path to the NBA Finals now and that they should waltz past the Bucks in their second round playoff series. Yeah not so much as Milwaukee came out in Game 1 this afternoon at TD Garden and punched them in the mouth, taking the opener 101-89 behind their superstar power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo's second career playoff triple double (24 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, 2 blocks). After sweeping the pathetic Nets in the first round, Boston had been off for nearly a week but that's not an excuse as they suffered their first loss of this postseason. The Celtics' two stars-small forward Jayson Tatum (team-high 21 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 steals)-were both not nearly good enough to beat the defending world champions. 

    The scary part for the C's is that Giannis didn't even play that well offensively, shooting 9-for-25 from the field and missing five free throws (6-of-11) but he still affects the game in so many ways which is why he is currently the best basketball player on the planet. With small forward Khris Middleton out for the series, many people think that Milwaukee lacks another star behind Giannis which might be true but it hardly seemed to matter when point guard Jrue Holiday was awesome with a game-high 25 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Bucks big man Bobby Portis added a double double with 15 points and 11 rebounds while that lowlife Grayson Allen notched 11 points and three steals off the bench. 

    Boston lacked any answers with Tatum and Brown each having lackluster performances. Center Al Horford had a double double with 12 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks while point guard Marcus Smart had 10 points, six assists and two steals. Backup point guard Derrick White was the only other Celtic in double figures with 10 points off the bench. The Celtics' defense gets plenty of hype but on the road, the Bucks held them to a ridiculous 33% shooting from the floor while they grabbed six more defensive rebounds (44-38), made three more steals (11-8) and turned the ball over five less times (18-13) than the sloppy home team. Time and again, Boston shot themselves in the foot as Milwaukee scored 21 more points off turnovers (27-6), 20 more fast break points (28-8) and five more second chance points (19-14). Finally, the Bucks also bullied them to the tune of 14 more points (34-20) in the paint as well.

    After doing basically whatever they wanted vs. Brooklyn, the Celtics appeared stunned to be pushed around so much by Milwaukee. In fact, the Bucks led really from start to finish: 27-24 after the first quarter, by 10 points at halftime (56-46) and 78-70 going into the fourth quarter. It's tough to call a Game 2 a must-win but would you like the Celts' chances of winning the series if they went to Milwaukee down 2-0? Me neither. You have to bank on Tatum and especially Brown being better on Tuesday (7, TNT) while Holiday doesn't figure to play so well. It will tell us plenty about Boston by how they respond to their first significant adversity of this postseason. Are they true contenders or just front-running frauds? Stay tuned on that.  

Just When All Hope Was Lost, The C's Pull Off Their Best Win Of The Season 122-114 At Bucks

 

    Coming into tonight's rematch between the Celtics (22-23 overall, 9-16 away) and Bucks (29-15 overall, 18-6 home) at the Fiserv Forum, I don't know who would have been crazy or frankly stupid enough to think that Boston would snap Milwaukee's eight-game win streak. That's the beauty of sports though, the unexpected often becomes reality. A day after the NBA Trade Deadline passed with Daniel Theis shipped off to Chicago and Evan Fournier on his way from Orlando, the Celts managed to put together their best performance of the year in a 122-114 victory that wasn't as close as the final score would indicate. We've been fooled too many times by this team during this bumpy season to think it's anything but an aberration that is until they prove us wrong again. 

    Center Robert Williams (7 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, 5 blocks, 2 steals) got his first start of the season and as you can tell by his statistics, he made the most of his 27 minutes. His energy seemed to boost the entire club as swingman Jayson Tatum (game-high 34 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds) was fantastic and guard Marcus Smart (23 points, 8 rebounds) had his usual once-a-year lights out shooting display (7-of-10 on 3s!). Point guard Kemba Walker (21 points, 5 assists, 3 steals) has actually been good for a few weeks now but it's hard to notice when the team is a trainwreck. Shooting guard Jaylen Brown added 18 points and five rebounds while another new Celtic Mo Wagner hit a 3-pointer and grabbed five rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench. 

    After being held to 13 points on Wednesday, Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo (16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists) wasn't much better this evening which makes you wonder how healthy he's feeling. As we know, it's not like Boston is considered great defensively so it's tough to explain how they locked him up in these two contests. Nobody on Milwaukee reached 20 points as small forward Khris Middleton led them with 19 points and two steals. Point guard Jrue Holiday scored 17 points but he had six costly turnovers. Shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo added 13 points but he was 5-for-15 from the field. Giannis' brother Thanasis put up 12 points and five rebounds off the bench while shooting guard Sam Merrill got hot in garbage time (making the score what it was) and finished with 15 points. 

 The C's had lost five straight games in Milwaukee and after Wednesday's bitter defeat, this was exactly what they needed. The first half treated them well as they led 32-26 after the first quarter and 60-55 at halftime. The third quarter was the key of the game as they pumped in a season-high 43 points to take a 103-89 advantage into the final frame. They went ice cold in the fourth as the Bucks got them 25-19 but thankfully by that time it was out of their reach. 

    As a team, Boston shot 4.5% better from the field than Milwaukee (48.9%-44.4%) and hit three more 3-pointers (22-19). They also made twice as many free throws (14-7), had three more assists (27-24), three more steals (10-7), five more blocks (8-3) and two less turnovers (16-14) than the home team. Kemba will be resting tomorrow night (9, NBC Sports Boston) but the Celtics will be in Oklahoma City (19-25 overall, 8-13 home) to try and take this back-to-back from the Bucks and Thunder. After this four-game road trip started poorly with the overtime loss at Memphis (21-21) on Monday then the comeback fell short against Milwaukee in round one, winning this game gives them a chance to go 2-2 which would be fine. The Thunder are not a playoff team so even with this condensed schedule, the Celtics should beat them if they want to start to rebuild any kind of trust in their fanbase for the rest of this bizarre campaign.

On The Eve Of The Trade Deadline, Let's Hope That Was The Last Glimpse Of A Mediocre Celtics Roster

 

    Oh man, you really couldn't have scripted a more perfect way for the Celtics (21-23 overall, 8-16 away) to go into the NBA Trade Deadline tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. They trailed by as much as 25 points in the third quarter tonight at the Fiserv Forum against the Bucks (29-14 overall, 18-5 home) only to have a crazy rally in the fourth quarter which gave them the chance to tie it or win at the end of regulation. Naturally, center Daniel Theis (10 points, 2 blocks) got wide open on the inbounds pass by guard Marcus Smart (12 points, 6 assists) but he missed a 3-pointer at the final buzzer that would have won it. Instead, Milwaukee survived for a 121-119 victory-their eighth win in a row-while Boston fell to 2-6 since the All-Star break and 1-10 in its last 11 road games. 

    So what say you Celts GM Danny Ainge? Have you seen enough from this underachieving group to mercifully do anything to put it out of its collective misery? Sadly, despite all the rumors of the team's interest in Orlando forward Aaron Gordon and swingman Evan Fournier, I fear that Ainge will either do nothing or something very minor before the deadline passes. Don't get me wrong, I am not delusional enough to think that the C's have any chance whatsoever to win the NBA championship this season no matter how many slick moves that Danny could pull off. Still, it would be nice for a change to see them be more about proactive action rather than after the fact recapping all the things that almost happened but ultimately didn't. 

    Two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (13 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) will probably never have a worse performance against the Celtics and yet his team still came out on top. Small forward Khris Middleton (game-high 27 points, game-high 13 rebounds) picked up the slack for the Greek Freak. Center Brook Lopez (5 rebounds, 3 steals) and shooting guard Donte DiVincenzo both scored 17 points while point guard Jrue Holiday added 13 points and two steals for the home team. Boston also allowed backup center Bobby Portis to score 21 points off the bench in just 17 minutes. 

    For the Celtics, one of their All-Stars was good while the other was not himself: I'll let you guess which was which as shooting guard Jaylen Brown had a team-high 24 points and 10 rebounds while swingman Jayson Tatum was held to 18 points (on 7-for-19 shooting), eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Boston wasted a fine night from point guard Kemba Walker (23 points, 6 assists, 3 steals) who briefly looked like his old self and backup point guard Jeff Teague scored 15 points in 17 minutes off the bench. 

    The hottest team in the NBA looked just like that as they led 35-30 after one quarter and 70-59 at halftime. Are you old enough to remember when Boston was actually considered a good defensive team? That seems like years ago. The Bucks outscored the Celtics 30-27 in the third quarter and Boston took the final frame (33-21) but it wasn't enough to come away with what would have been their biggest and most meaningful win of the season. Milwaukee shot 2.1% better from the field (50%-47.9%), they made four more free throws (14-10), grabbed eight more total rebounds (46-38) including four more offensive boards (13-9) and four more defensive boards (33-29) and they scored seven more second chance points (23-16) than the C's. 

    Boston gets another shot at Milwaukee on Friday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) and somehow I'm betting it will go way worse for the visitors. Giannis is guaranteed to play much better and the Bucks will ride the momentum of a very good team finding their rhythm at the right time of the season. No matter if it's Gordon, Fournier or somebody else that is a trusted veteran in the league, I can only wish that Ainge will make something work to help ensure that another lost season like this (with Tatum and Brown on the team) is not acceptable and won't occur again anytime soon. 

Tatum Comes Through In The Clutch & Giannis Chokes In Wild Season-Opening Win For The C's

 

    In a night that started with a moving tribute to Celtics icon Tommy Heinsohn, Boston did him proud with a riveting 122-121 season-opening victory tonight against Milwaukee at an empty TD Garden. C's star Jayson Tatum (30 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) hit an absurd 3-pointer that banked off the glass before going in with 0.4 seconds left in regulation. That gave the Celtics a 122-120 lead, so obviously game over, right? Haha it's still 2020 for a few more tedious days therefore the reigning NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (game-high 35 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and 7 turnovers) was fouled by one of the newest Celtics-center Tristan Thompson (12 points, 8 rebounds)-going up for an alley-oop off the inbounds pass. Giannis hit the first free throw but then he front-rimmed the second one and that's how it shockingly ended. 

    With point guard Kemba Walker out for at least the near future with his troubling knee injury, the Celts will have to lean heavily on Tatum and shooting guard Jaylen Brown (team-high 33 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals) and this evening against last season's No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, they both stepped up in a major way. Center Daniel Theis added 10 points while the other starter fill-in point guard Marcus Smart (7 assists, 2 blocks) struggled offensively managing just three points in 38 minutes. This was the third time that Tatum and Brown have each scored 30 points in the same game and not surprisingly, their team is 3-0 in those special occasions that should soon happen more frequently. They also became they first Celtics teammates to ever do that in a season-opener. Head coach Brad Stevens improved to 5-3 in season-openers as the Celtics head coach.

    Boston's bench is one of its biggest question marks coming into 2020-2021 but at least this evening, they were light years ahead of Milwaukee's terrible bench. The Celtics outscored them 34-12 thanks mostly to veteran point guard Jeff Teague (19 points, 2 steals) who was fantastic in his Celtics debut. Former All-Star Khris Middleton (27 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists) nearly notched a triple-double while the Bucks' huge offseason addition point guard Jrue Holiday added 25 points and six rebounds. Finally, former Villanova star Donte DiVincenzo (15 points, 5 rebounds) looked like he belonged in Milwaukee's starting lineup which is undoubtedly one of the best in the league. 

    They didn't meet in the bubble playoffs (since the Bucks laid an egg against the Heat) but before that, Boston and Milwaukee had met in the previous two postseasons as this has gradually become a solid rivalry in the East. Did I mention that the C's almost blew a 17-point lead? Haha oh that. They were up 101-84 going into the fourth quarter but that was all gone before Tatum hit his prayer. As you can guess, it was a very entertaining back-and-forth contest as the Bucks jumped out to a 34-31 lead after the first quarter before Boston took control in the second quarter (33-25) to go up 64-59 at halftime. In the Disney World bubble, the third quarter was a nightmare for the C's but not this time as they outscored the Bucks 37-25. 

    As always under Stevens, Boston will live and die by the three and they hit four more than Milwaukee (18-14). They also had four more assists (23-19), twice as many steals (8-4) and 10 less turnovers. The Bucks must be shaking their heads, wondering how they even lost this game. They shot over 50% (51.1%-47.5%), they took seven more free throws (18-11) and hit seven more (15-8) than Boston. Milwaukee also grabbed 15 more rebounds (52-37) including 14 more defensive boards (41-27). No matter what happens for the rest of this bizarre 72-game Covid-19 shortened regular season, there won't be many better games than this one, I guarantee it (Charles Barkley voice)!

    The NBA takes Christmas Eve off-giving bozo James Harden more time to hit the club-but then they are back for one of the most important days of the year for the league: Christmas. There are five marquee matchups spanning all afternoon and night including your Celtics hosting (5, ABC) the Nets (1-0) who embarrassed the Warriors (0-1) 125-99 last night in Brooklyn. Perhaps the most annoying man in pro sports-Kyrie Irving (who scored 26 points vs. Golden State)-will return to Boston along with a fully-healed Kevin Durant (he put up 22 points against one of his old teams). The Warriors were playing without Klay Thompson and Draymond Green so I don't want to be like everyone else and overreact too much about one win but the Nets looked deep and damn good. If nothing else, Celtics-Nets should be a spicy new rivalry since you'll remember that Durant could have chosen to come here in free agency a few years back but he rightfully picked the easiest road to a ring-the Warriors. Still, Boston sports fans have amazing memories when it comes to real or perceived slights by players on other teams.