The Celtics gave a defensive masterclass against Kevin Durant in their first-round series against the Nets, playing with a physical advantage that threw the Brooklyn superstar out of his groove.
The Milwaukee Bucks flipped the script on Jayson Tatum and the Celtics on Sunday at TD Garden.
The defending champions limited Boston to just 89 points on 33% shooting to steal Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on the road. Tatum was the Celtics’ leading scorer with 21 points, but was just 6-for-18 shooting and 2-for-11 on 2-point attempts.
No other Celtics player scored more than 12 points, and the Cs made just 10 2-point field goals as a team, the second-lowest mark in NBA playoff history.
You could attribute some of those numbers to a five day break. But it also seemed like Boston wasn’t ready for the Bucks’ aggressive physical defense led by 6-foot-11 Giannis Antetokounmpo and 7-foot Brook Lopez.
“Having 89 points and the lack of penetration and paint points is obviously alarming. So, we have to figure that out,” Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said after the game. “We know who they are defensively, and I think their physicality more than anything took us by surprise.”
Boston scored just 20 points in the paint compared to Milwaukee’s 34. Tatum’s drives often ended in dunks against Brooklyn in Round 1; against Milwaukee, some ended up with the ball in the stands.
The presence of Lopez and Antetokounmpo in the paint forced the Celtics to go to the perimeter, where they made just 18 of 50 3-point attempts (36%). While some watched openly, Udoka didn’t seem thrilled with how his team reacted to Milwaukee’s strong interior defense.
“We settle for some tougher 3-pointers. We have to go downhill and get to the basket,” Udoka said. “I didn’t think our rim reads were the best tonight. We know Lopez is back there, so we had some passes and some tumbles that we could have made, and also some shots that we missed for the basket.”
The Bucks also defended well on the perimeter, at times taking down an all-court pressure as they entered Tatum’s airspace the same way Boston did Durant on the last series.
“I think it’s one thing to just harass him,” Bucks guard Jrue Holiday said when asked about the key to defending Tatum. “… It’s not just me, it’s a team effort. I think being able to channel it and him seeing two or three guys, sometimes even four, makes it feel like I’m doing something. But I’m really trusting my teammates a lot. “.
That game plan had some success against Tatum, who admitted to feeling a little shaken in Game 1.
“I think they just sped us up,” Tatum said. “We just have to do a better job of doing what we want to do and not letting them dictate that over the course of the game.”
The Celtics have been an elite offensive team since late January and averaged 113.5 points per game against Brooklyn in Round 1. They should shoot better than 33% in Game 2 and had some good looks in Game 1 that just didn’t go down. .
But after four games against one of the worst defensive teams in the playoffs, the Celtics had a rude awakening on Sunday with a Bucks defense that is long and, more importantly, can match Boston’s physicality.
“I have to give them credit. They really came out and set the tone,” Celtics center Al Horford said after the game. “It was one of those games that they let us play, which was great, and I definitely think we took a step back from the things that they were doing.”
How the Celtics respond to Milwaukee’s physicality in Game 2 on Tuesday night will go a long way to their success in this series.
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