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Celtics Wrap: Boston Pulls Off Impressive Comeback To Beat Bucks 116-104
 
NESN by Chris Grenham on Wed, Oct 30, 2019 at 10:10PM
 
The Boston Celtics were faced with the challenge of stopping Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday night, and they answered the bell in impressive fashion. After trailing by 19 points, the Celtics came all the way back to defeat the Bucks 116-105 in an all-around effort which saw Boston’s starting five combine for 107 of its 116 points. The Celtics never-say-die attitude was aided by sharp perimeter defense, led by Marcus Smart, and a wild 38-point third quarter to get them back into this one. Kemba Walker (32 points), Jayson Tatum (25), Gordon Hayward (21), Marcus Smart (19) and Daniel Theis (11) all finished in double figures for Boston. Walker was just 4-of-18 from the floor in his Celtics debut. Khris Middleton led the way for Milwaukee with 26 points and six rebounds. Here’s how it all went down.
 
STARTING FIVE PG: Kemba Walker SG: Marcus Smart SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Gordon Hayward C: Daniel Theis
 
MANAGING GIANNIS Boston did its best with Milwaukee’s offensive firepower in the early going, but the Bucks made sure to target the mismatch of Daniel Theis. The undersized big man got the start for the Celtics in what was a difficult matchup, but Brad Stevens quickly utilized Grant Williams and Robert Williams off the bench. Robert Williams provided some rim protection for Boston with blocks like this: But unfortunately for the Celtics, Milwaukee was a bit too much to handle early on with their length and depth. Boston trailed 34-19 after one. Walker led the way with seven first-quarter points, but his team-high 10 minutes resulted in an ugly minus-14 rating.
 
STRUGGLES CONTINUE The Bucks offensive push didn’t stop in the second quarter. Milwaukee extended its lead out to 19 just three minutes into the frame. The Celtics used some strong perimeter defense to minimize the deficit, however, using a quick run to cut the Bucks’ lead to 11 with just two minutes later. But the Bucks perimeter shooting was once again just too much, even off one leg. The Bucks shot 46.5 percent in the first half, with Antetokounmpo and Middleton each collecting nine points. Despite their struggles, the Celtics remained in the game, trailing by 13 at the half. Much of that was thanks to Boston forcing eight Milwaukee turnovers. Walker and Smart each had 11 first-half points.
 
DEFENSE LEADING THE WAY Boston’s defense kept them in it once again early in the third, allowing them to stay within striking distance. Milwaukee began the game 5-of-9 from deep, but they went just 5-of-21 from that point forward. Smart helped lock down the paint, opening up the rest of the floor for the Celtics. Four consecutive stops turned into a swift 10-2 run, cutting the Buck’s lead to just seven with 4:35 to go in the third quarter. Boston wouldn’t stop there. After trailing by as much as 19, the Celtics used a 23-7 run to take a 77-76 lead with less than one minute remaining in the third, causing TD Garden to nearly erupt after a Tatum 3-pointer. The third-year guard finished off the frame with another triple, capping off a wild 26-7 run to complete a monster third quarter. Boston outscored Milwaukee 38-18 in the third, led by Smart’s defense and Tatum (16 points) and Walker (19) on the offensive end.
 
FIGHTING TO THE FINISH Boston led by seven with 7:40 left in the fourth, as its on-ball pressure continued to stifle Milwaukee’s offensive rhythm. Tatum’s impressive stretch continued with a ridiculous dunk that gave the Celtics an 11-point lead with just over seven minutes to go. This dunk pushed Boston’s 12-minute run up to 37-11. Hayward played a huge role in the comeback, pushing his second-half point total up to 16 with under five minutes left in regulation. He’d collect his first 20-point, 10-rebound game in a Celtics uniform, per the team. Every time the Bucks made a push to cut the lead to single digits, Walker would get a bucket on the other end, preserving the Celtics lead. Boston’s hot shooting would ultimately serve as too much for Milwaukee.
 
PLAY OF THE GAME Tatum’s back-to-back 3-pointers have to be the sequence of the night.
 
UP NEXT The Celtics welcome the New York Knicks to TD Garden on Friday, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. ET.



112288

Signature win early in the season.

Hats off to Marcus Smart as he kept grinding away all game long. Celts finally caught fire. Bucks looked slow in second half. Boston won most of the 50/50 balls.

Great chemistry out there tonight.

So we are not folding with Al and Kyrie? Is that what my lying eyes are telling me, Charles Barkley?

Folding, no. When they finally came out in the second half, there was a fire in all of them, thanks to Marcus Smart. He fought like hell in the first half, yet they were down at one point by 20 points. All of a sudden, as if a lightbulb was turned on, every player in that game came alive. Kemba and Hayward were spectacular in the second half. Hayward so close to a triple double, making the shots we knew he was capable of making. Kemba, being Kemba. The supporting cast, one at a time contributed to this wonderful comeback.

I don’t think that Milwaukee knew what hit them. Giannis looked like we finally had the key to his game, player after player taking a turn defending him. Marcus, Semi, Theis, they all took turns. Middleton kept them in the game.

I know it is only the fourth game of the season, but the Celtics looked like they were having fun beating up on this team. I can only wish we could replay that Philly game. I think the outcome would be different

So....exciting it was, A good feeling walking out of the Garden tonight.
I loved it!

Thanks for the color commentary Rosalie. This team seems SO much happier and mentally more poised than last year's team. And they are a team this year. What did Mike Dukakis say? The fish smells from the head? Last year Kyrie was heading this team and we stunk. Now we are enjoying the sweet smell of success.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Folding, no.  When they finally came out in the second half, there was a fire in all of them, thanks to Marcus Smart. He fought like hell in the first half, yet they were down at one point by 20 points. All of a sudden, as if a lightbulb was turned on, every player in that game came alive. Kemba and Hayward were spectacular in the second half. Hayward so close to a triple double, making the shots we knew he was capable of making. Kemba, being Kemba.  The supporting cast, one at a time contributed to this wonderful comeback.

I don’t think that Milwaukee knew what hit them.   Giannis looked like we finally had the key to his game, player after player taking a turn defending him. Marcus, Semi, Theis, they all took turns. Middleton kept them in the game.  

I know it is only the fourth game of the season, but the Celtics looked like they were having fun beating up on this team.  I can only wish we could replay that Philly game. I think the outcome would be different

So....exciting it was, A good feeling walking out of the Garden tonight.
I loved it!

I couldn't agree more, Smart kept this team grinding play after play on defense, until they seemingly stifled the Bucks offense.

A total team win for sure , but Smart, Hayward, Tatum and Walker all stepped up in the second half to take them down.

I also enjoyed seeing Pierce on the sideline cheering like a crazy man for his Celtics the whole second half of the game!

Hi,
Great win. A preview to ECF?
A few observations.
Game ball goes to Smart.
Smart again - he can get under Freak's skin.
Interesting combination: Kemba-Gordon p-n-r started to work as soon as GH started to sink mid-range jumpers.
Our defense was good: kept the game within reach and then set the comeback in the second half.
Last but not least, Theis over powered and over matched kept his cool (I wonder what would be the outcome if Kanter was in?).

AK

Smart proved it last year, and he's backing it up again; he's the engine that makes the car go.

Tatum scores 25, with a couple key 3s, and he's no longer a bust. Love those consistently loyal and patient fans!

Theis making a case for undersized centers. Not even close to comparing, but didn't Boston used to have one that did OK once? Way back. Tough guy. Drove a cab for one night for fun and no-one recognized him. What was his name again? Hmmm... Maybe one undersized center in the 3-man rotation will be OK.

Yes, Rosalie...thanks to Marcus Smart. By the luck of the draw he started the game and set the attitude throughout the game.

I have nothing to really be concerned about in the the first half regarding getting so far behind because we were playing pretty well and basically teeing up for the 2nd half.

Let's not put Kemba off to the side and forget his "quiet" 32 AGAIN with his 6 Rebounds and 6 Assists! This guy is/may be the antithesis of Kyrie and he does everything with a smile and steady drive. 14-15 from the line?!! I say, Come on, man!! He's not afraid of getting hit while driving.

Also as quietly as Kemba's 32, GeeWard almost logged a 3-D with 20/10/7!! WTH, Bo?!! Rumors of his eminent demise were clearly exaggerated!

I'm still watching the 2nd half unraveling for the Bucks. I just love listening to the press try to cover themselves in a game like this. They clearly hate everything Celtics and believe we should be pushing up daisies from the bottom of the league every year. This game could not have gone any better except we are going to have to accept early on that it's going to take us a quarter or two to get started. But after that...watch the hell out!!

Nine TO's. Nice. Assists/FGM = 61%. Sam would like it at 2 of 3 or a really great game of sharing comes in at 3 of 4. Close enough against the Bucks.

All around, this was a mild statement game. More for us than the Celtics. They knew before they ever stepped into the arena they were going to win this game. They didn't get rattled with the 1st half and it all paid off in the 2nd half. Now let's see if we can put the Knicks down on Friday! They may want a little revenge.

db

P.S. The icing on the cake was having the Great One there, The Truth! He's knows something is up and serves as a reminder of the 2007-2008 season. Just remember this moment down the road this season...

NYCelt wrote:Smart proved it last year, and he's backing it up again; he's the engine that makes the car go.

Tatum scores 25, with a couple key 3s, and he's no longer a bust. Love those consistently loyal and patient fans!

Theis making a case for undersized centers. Not even close to comparing, but didn't Boston used to have one that did OK once? Way back. Tough guy. Drove a cab for one night for fun and no-one recognized him. What was his name again? Hmmm... Maybe one undersized center in the 3-man rotation will be OK.

We all like Theis and root for him, but let’s not compare him to Dave Cowens, it’s not fair to Theis. One guy lead the all star games every year in rebounding, the other guy gets 10-15 minutes a game....

Missed game, seen some highlights, can anyone tell me the defensive rotation on Giannis? saw we used different players, so each must have covered him differently, looks like it worked as he didn’t go off like he has....

It was all hands on deck Harding him. Theis. Smart. Tatting

112288

How did GWill do against him? If Theis started on GA, who covered Lopez?

Our second signature win, and we're just 4 games in and Jaylen Brown, who is playing the best two-way basketball of his career, was out.

Shout out to The Truth, who was as excited as if he was still in uniform and playing.  He may have been born and raised in Inglewood but he bleeds green through and through.

A Tale of Two Halves

We were down 15 points after one and were playing so poorly we almost felt lucky to only be down 15 because it looked like everything was easy for them and hard for us.  Hayward was 0-4 and Smarty hadn't taken off yet.  We played better in the 2nd quarter but still lost it by 1.  We were down by 19 points at one point.

At halftime, Gordon Hayward had 5 points on 2-8, Jayson Tatum had 5 points on 2-10 and Kemba had 11 points (only 1 point in the 2nd quarter) on 3-8.  That's a combined 21 points on 7-26, 27%, from our top 3 scorers.
Whatever Brad etal were saying in the locker room at halftime needs to be bottled.  We doubled up the #1 offense in the league 74-37.

What a game by Marcus Smart!  Nobody could throw the ball in the ocean and he's grinding, grinding, grinding.  Aside from the 19 points on 7-16 and the 6 assists and ZERO turnovers despite being the primary ballhandler, and his usual Smarty defense, he rented a 3-bedroom flat in Giannis' head.  The Freak was committing mentally weak fouls his frustration was so out of control.  And when Khris Middleton got hot and tried to pull them back to withing a possession or two it was Marcus Smart Brad assigned to shut him down, and he's smaller than both Middleton and Giannis.  Doesn't matter, he's The Cobra.

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 1 hour ago
The #Celtics unleashed the Marcus Smart experience on Giannis Antetokounmpo on Wednesday night. Smart: "I’m getting to him, especially when he’s not getting to the ball, or he’s not getting to the rim, or he’s not getting the shots that he usually gets."

Chris Forsberg
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NBA’s matchup data had Marcus Smart logging most minutes defending Giannis. Allowed only one field goal and created three turnovers in 17 possessions defended.
pic.twitter.com/sUr7rlxGx9




At one point in the 3rd Jayson Tatum was 3-13 and pulled himself up to 6-16 after 3.   He ended up 10-22.  That's a 4-6 4th quarter, including that backbreaker 3 with 1:07 left that put us up 13 and then kept us up by 12 with 36 seconds left after George Hill hit a 3 in between.  A very different game if he missed those two.  We'd have been up, still, but only by 7.  It was obvious, though, why he's struggling to finish, he was throwing up some awful shots.  He's trying to lean away from the defenders and float the ball over them rather than taking it to them.

Kemba had 11 points on 3-8 at halftime.  He had 19 after 3, but on 4-13 shooting.  He ended up 7-19, so a 3-6 4th.  He made the difference at the frito line.  14-15 from the line are big points.  I just wish he'd wake up and realize he's in a basketball game in the first half one of these days, I'm chewing my nails down to the quick watching him chuck up bricks for the first two quarters.  I also have to say, after 4 games, I am very impressed with his defense.  I had no idea he could, or did, play defense that well.  I just thought he was an offensive machine and hopefully not too much of a liability on defense.  His defense is actually pretty good.  Just being around Smarty makes you smarty.

2-8, 5 points for Gordon Hayward at halftime.  Awful.  I'm thinking "Oh Lord, we're back to IG, Inconsistent Gordon".  Well, oh me of little faith.  He had 15 points on 6-13 after 3.  That's a 10 point 4-5 quarter, for those who are counting.  In the 4th quarter he was 3-4 for 6 points but added 5 assists and 2 rebounds.  We had a 36 point 4th quarter and OG had a hand in at least 16 of them with scoring and his 5 assists.  THAT is impactful play.  Season-to-date Hayward is shooting 48%, 58% from 3, 84.6% from the line.  17.5ppg and 7.5rpg.  Those are close to All-Star numbers.

We had 3 players scoring over 20 and one, Smart, who scored 19.  Even Theis scored 11.

Theis with a solid game.  Some mistakes, but he played well overall I thought.  I'll take 11 points on 5-8 and 9 rebounds from our center spot anytime.  The Time Lord played well too.  14 minutes are rotation minutes, which I believe will increase over the season as he gains more experience.  Let's remember that he only played 283 minutes last year and still only has 61 more this season.  61 minutes aren't a lot to suddenly promote him to the starting 5 (unless you're trying to bolster him by surrounding him with veterans who will help hide his deficiencies).

Semi with some great defense on The Freak.  That's why he's on the team.  I don't see what he brings to the table besides his ability to combine his strength and foot speed to keep Giannis out of the paint.  He was 1-3 and, to be honest, I thought he should have earned a few trips to the line but...a solid outing, nevertheless.

GWill struggled a bit, but he's never seen anything like what got thrown at him last night.  Aside from Giannis, the Bucks are loaded with veterans.  Their bench is Ilyasova (who has always played well against us), Robin Lopez, George Hill (who also has had a lot of good games against us) and Methuselah (aka Kyle Korver, who will turn 39 this season and can still shoot lights out).  Talk about "been there and done that" they have an awesome, and deep, veteran bench.   He makes a, dare I say it, Bird-like steal on the baseline at about 7:50 of the highlight film below that ended up with a Hayward 3 that got their lead down to 7.  I don't think this was one of his better games but there is nothing wrong with his BBIQ and that is abundantly clear.  He's a rookie, and he already has one of the best BBIQs on the team.

We only had 9 turnovers.  One area where we have seen a significant improvement is in reducing our turnovers.  We lead the league in turnovers, only 12/game, and we had 9 last night.  Despite their quickness, height and excellent defensive rotations for much of the night we still improved our average.

Milwaukee has the #4 offense in the league, in ppg, averaging 119.3ppg.  They scored 105 last night.  That's a BIG difference.  They are 11th in fgas/game, 91.8/game, they only got 82 last night.

We, on the other hand, are 2nd in fgas/game, 96/game, and we took 92.  A little off, but not much, certainly not as much as the difference between almost 92 and 82.

The Bucks were down big against Miami earlier this season, rallied to go into OT, and then lost IN MILWAUKEE.  They just blew a 19 point lead and ended up losing by double digits.  I guess it's a good thing teams aren't awarded wins based upon how good their roster looks on paper, huh?

Rosalie needs to go to games more often.  We seem to win when she does.

The Comments From The Other Side are going to be good.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401160700









bob



.

I thought RW should have played more than 14 minutes last night.  He had 4 rebounds but what stood out again was his passing. He had 3 assists and zero turnovers.  His high post screens and dribble handoffs look very good.  

Through 4 games RW has an offensive rating of 116.7 and a defensive rating of 98.5 for a net rating of +18.2

These statistics achieve more credibility with an increase in minutes.  

I have seen nothing that tells me Daniel Theis is our best option at center.  He played well last night although he gave up a couple of baseline drives to the freak.  

Daniel Theis is not a legitimate starting day to day center.  He is too small.  He has made a case for being a spot starter from what I have seen thus far.  If he is able to be productive like this on most nights I might have to reevaluate things.

The freak was contained last night because of great team defense from guys like Semi and Grant and everyone one else that was in the mix.  He still dropped 22 points (8-13) with 14 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and a steal and 3 TO's.  

The Bucks looked like a team that lacks speed and quickness.  They do not look as good as they did last year.  They ran out of juice as Boston put forth a consistent high level of energy throughout the game.

Boston finally found their shooting touch and it really began with Marcus Smart at both ends of the court.  Every player on the team contributed to this win but Marcus was the leader.  A++ game for him.

Thanks guys, can’t believe GA only took 13 shots....gotta force feed your star more touches if I’m that coach

Chris Grenham @chrisgrenham
about 19 minutes ago
Marcus Smart allowed just one field goal to Giannis over 17 possessions last night. In his other 37 defensive possessions, he allowed zero field goals.

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bob




.

That's ridiculous, Gus! Glad he's a Celtic!!

db

cowens/oldschool wrote:

NYCelt wrote:Smart proved it last year, and he's backing it up again; he's the engine that makes the car go.

Tatum scores 25, with a couple key 3s, and he's no longer a bust. Love those consistently loyal and patient fans!

Theis making a case for undersized centers. Not even close to comparing, but didn't Boston used to have one that did OK once? Way back. Tough guy. Drove a cab for one night for fun and no-one recognized him. What was his name again? Hmmm... Maybe one undersized center in the 3-man rotation will be OK.

We all like Theis and root for him, but let’s not compare him to Dave Cowens, it’s not fair to Theis. One guy lead the all star games every year in rebounding, the other guy gets 10-15 minutes a game....

Missed game, seen some highlights, can anyone tell me the defensive rotation on Giannis? saw we used different players, so each must have covered him differently, looks like it worked as he didn’t go off like he has....

Cow,

Double check that one. I wasn't comparing him to your namesake. My point was there may still be room for a small center. I did like working in the cab story though!

Regards

For those who think that Theis is not a force in theire, watch more closely. Granted he cannot play 30 minutes a game, but whenever he was in there, good things happened. He works so hard.

Giannis just did not know what hit him. On the way home, the announcer on the rado kept saying that Smart didn’t do anything special, he held Giannis to his game stat totals from the last three games. Yes he did do something special. The stats he kept quoting we 22 pts/9 rebounds.  Those are not the stats that won him the mvp trophy last year. When it wasn’t Smart, it was
Semi or who ever else was in there. He had two guys on him all the time
Middleton was the reason they were in the game, he is one smooth player and no one was defending him well.

Watching Pierce, sitting with Celtic owners right on the floor opposite the Bucks bench was so much fun. He was standing up more than sitting and helped fuel the energy to these guys. They were thrilled to see him so annimated. Come on Wyc, there has to be a spot somewhere in administration for The Truth.

NYCelt wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:

NYCelt wrote:Smart proved it last year, and he's backing it up again; he's the engine that makes the car go.

Tatum scores 25, with a couple key 3s, and he's no longer a bust. Love those consistently loyal and patient fans!

Theis making a case for undersized centers. Not even close to comparing, but didn't Boston used to have one that did OK once? Way back. Tough guy. Drove a cab for one night for fun and no-one recognized him. What was his name again? Hmmm... Maybe one undersized center in the 3-man rotation will be OK.

We all like Theis and root for him, but let’s not compare him to Dave Cowens, it’s not fair to Theis. One guy lead the all star games every year in rebounding, the other guy gets 10-15 minutes a game....

Missed game, seen some highlights, can anyone tell me the defensive rotation on Giannis? saw we used different players, so each must have covered him differently, looks like it worked as he didn’t go off like he has....

Cow,

Double check that one. I wasn't comparing him to your namesake. My point was there may still be room for a small center. I did like working in the cab story though!

Regards

All good, I actually read it too fast, you did start with a not even close to comparing....my bad.

On another post years ago I made a point that Cowens with his outside shooting, ability to run the high post offense and overall game could play so well today. That year the starting bigs in the Finals were Draymond Green and Tristian Thompson. Who knows maybe Theis keeps up his play and durability, has great chemistry and maybe were the team that wins with an undersized center.