While we could have expected to see Boston suffer without four of its major players (Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford), nothing happened! The Celtics got off to the best start, relying, as usual, on their collective, and the address of the Hauser-Muscala tandem at 3-points (12-20).
It was then the 2+1 from Grant Williams, the 3-pointer from Payton Pritchard and the two baskets from Robert Williams III that allowed the C’s to keep the lead at the end of the first act (27-35). Milwaukee managed to pick up before the break, mainly thanks to the aggression and game vision of Giannis Antetokounmpo, in particular to serve Jevon Carter and Grayson Allen at 3-pointers.
Jevon Carter twice, Jrue Holiday and Khris Middleton also weighed in thanks to their outside address. On a final missile signed Jrue Holiday, the Bucks even took the lead at the break (64-63).
Were the locals going to step up a gear when they returned from the locker room? Not really ! It was Boston again who regained control of the match following a 14-3 victory with 3-pointers from Mike Muscala and Grant Williams (74-81). At 3-point then at the throw, Malcolm Brogdon thus increased the gap to +14 in favor of the Celtics (76-90).
Milwaukee got up just before the start of the last quarter, with Jrue Holiday and Joe Ingles from afar and a last miraculous basket at the buzzer of the period signed Jrue Holiday from his half of the field to bring his people back together at -5 ( 90-95).
Sam Hauser sends everyone to overtime
The Bucks then regained the lead under the impetus of a found Middleton-Antetokounmpo duo and two new 3-point missiles from Jrue Holiday (113-107). But they failed to kill the game, between missed shots from Giannis Antetokounmpo and a left hand lay-up from the “Greek Freak” 23 seconds from the end (114-111). At the end of the suspense, it was finally Sam Hauser who managed to equalize with a rainbow 3-pointer that pierced the string of the Bucks’ basket, sending the two teams into overtime (116-116)!
On their way, the Celtics managed to take the best by moving to +5 thanks to five quick points from Derrick White (116-121). It was Jrue Holiday again who saved the Bucks’ bet with a dunk on the counterattack following a big defense and a 3-pointer which took his team to +2 (127-125). After a last ball stolen by Grayson Allen from the hands of Grant Williams, Milwaukee was able to seal the victory on two shots from Giannis Antetokounmpo (131-125).
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The series continues! The Bucks continue their merry way with an 11th straight victory. It’s the franchise’s best streak in three years, when they had 18 hits at the start of the 2019-20 fiscal year. They especially take advantage of it to get a little closer to the leader of the Eastern Conference, Boston. There will remain one game to be played between the two teams this season, on March 30, still in Milwaukee.
– The Awesome Celtics. Plucked, the C’s almost created a feat by coming to win in Milwaukee. If the result was not there, the content must have fully satisfied Joe Mazzulla with regard to the context of the match. Concretely, without a big Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee might have folded. That says a lot, if further proof was needed, about the collective strength of this team.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Jrue Holiday. His name suits him so badly! The Bucks point guard was in the oven and in the mill between his defense, setting up the offense and his impressive outside address which saved Milwaukee many times during this game. Everything worked for him, and it took at least that to overcome a tough Boston team.
✅⛔️Giannis Antetokounmpo. One word to sum up his match: laborious. 34 points, 13 rebounds, 9 assists thanks to good streaks, especially when he was able to involve his teammates with his good passes. For the rest, his free-throw skill was catastrophic even if he made up for it by finishing at 7/8 in the exercise, there was clumsiness in shooting, culminating in a lay- up left hand all cooked to kill the game, and 8 lost balls. He who preaches the importance of good habits to adopt has posted his worst career figures this season in terms of average lost balls per game (4) and his second worst free throw average (64.8%!).
⛔️ Brook Lopez. A complicated match for him, in particular because of faults quickly conceded. It is an understatement to say that its impact was minimal.
✅ Derrick White. He could have been the hero of the match if his start in overtime had led his team to victory. Even if he had waste in shooting (10/24, including 3/12 from afar), he still shone with 27 points and 12 assists. In line with its previous releases.
✅ Sam Hauser. A native of Wisconsin, the shooter could also have been one of the X factors of the evening. If none of his teammates was undeserved, like Mike Muscala who was still strong with 18 points and 8 rebounds, Sam Hauser brought scoring, rebounding and above all scored this disputed 3-point basket which allowed the Celtics to go into overtime.
THE FOLLOWING
Milwaukee (40-17) : the Bucks will be expected in Chicago this Thursday (01:30).
Boston (41-17) : last game before the All-Star Break this Wednesday at home against Detroit (01:30).
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