The Boston Celtics’ matchup towards the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday evening was alleged to be a battle for the one seed. If all had gone in keeping with plan, the Celtics would have had the possibility to chop Milwaukee’s result in only one recreation.
Nonetheless, a brutal loss to the Washington Wizards on Tuesday evening dashed Boston’s hopes of inching nearer to the highest of the convention. So as a substitute of their matchup towards Milwaukee being about seeding, it was about getting again on observe.
“We responded nicely from the leap,” Jayson Tatum stated after the sport. “That’s all that I wished, and we wished as a crew. Regardless if we gained or not, simply reply and play higher than we did final recreation.”
After a 19-point beatdown by the hands of the 34-42 Wizards, the Celtics stormed into Fiserv Discussion board and walked everywhere in the now 55-22 Bucks, incomes a 140-99 win. They jumped out to a double-digit lead by the top of the primary quarter and by no means regarded again.
The final time Boston misplaced two video games in a row was initially of March once they blew three-consecutive double-digit leads. Heading into Thursday evening, with the Bucks staring them within the face, they hoped to keep away from that very same feat. However fairly than panic and make 1,000,000 changes in lieu of defeat, they saved their heads.
“Trusting within the recreation plan and what coach wished us to do,” Al Horford stated when requested in regards to the Celtics’ mindset heading into the sport. “Greater than something, simply actually attempting to play the fashion of play that he needs us to. Uptempo. Taking part in with extra tempo. And I felt like all of us simply type of, from the leap, have been on that.”
Head coach Joe Mazzulla employed the methods of fixed ball motion, three-point shot-taking, and a linked protection all yr lengthy. And towards the Bucks, Boston mastered all three of these ideologies.
They dished out 28 assists, shot 22-of-43 from three-point land (51.2%), and held the Bucks to simply 37.6% taking pictures. That quantity consists of Giannis Antetokounmpo making simply 11 of his 27 shot makes an attempt.
Boston waltzed into Milwaukee and confronted the problem head-on, wanting fearless in a contest towards the most effective crew within the league.
“Simply specializing in us,” Marcus Sensible stated of the Celtics’ objective after their loss to Washington. “We understood that coming in tonight was going to be a serious problem towards a extremely, actually good crew. We knew how these guys play. We knew that they have been going to come back out and problem us. So, we simply wished to be prepared for that, and we simply wished to redeem ourselves.”
With simply 5 video games left within the common season, there isn’t a lot time left for Boston to earn the one seed. They sit two video games again of the Bucks, which means Milwaukee must give them some severe assist by shedding a minimum of two of their last 5.
However fairly than eyeing the standings, the Celtics’ consideration ought to be turning towards the postseason. In the event that they need to be at their greatest come playoff time, ending out the common season robust must be a high precedence, and they’re absolutely conscious of that.
“We’ve been fairly constant all yr,” stated Jaylen Brown. “You’d suppose we haven’t been, however all we acquired to do is simply proceed to play basketball, handle particulars, hone in, and attempt to attain our full potential. And it’s by no means too late for stuff like that, and tonight was an incredible win.”
