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Celtics Wrap: Jaylen Brown Erupts Offensively As Boston Evens Series
Jaylen Brown and the defense sparked Boston


NESN by Greg Dudek

The Boston Celtics put together a terrific bounce-back performance and led wire-to-wire to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks, 109-86, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday at TD Garden.

With Boston’s win, the series is now evened at 1-1.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY

From his seat on the bench, Celtics guard Marcus Smart, who missed the game due to a thigh contusion, had to love the defensive performance Boston put together in this one.

Led by Al Horford and Grant Williams, the Celtics made things extremely difficult for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who went 2-for-12 from the field in the first half before finishing with 28 points. Boston didn’t shy away from physicality when it came to Antetokounmpo, either, making him earn everything he got.

The Celtics also caused 17 turnovers and never let Milwaukee heat up from long range like they did in Game 1. The Bucks shot just 3-of-18 from deep.

This high-level of defense, even without the Defensive Player of the Year, was one of the key factors in Boston pulling out the win.

STARS OF THE GAME

— Jaylen Brown put any thoughts of his substandard Game 1 well out memory. Brown’s redemption came right away as he poured in 17 points in the first quarter alone. Brown netted 25 of his game-high 30 points in the first half — he missed only one shot from the field over the first 24 minutes — and finished 11-for-18 shooting.


Aside from his scoring output, Brown served as a playmaker for Boston’s offense as well. He dished out six assists, including a couple pretty dimes.

— Williams was a key catalyst for the Celtics off the bench. Williams scored a career-high 21 points and made Milwaukee’s defense pay by knocking down 6-of-9 three-pointers to go along with his hard-nose defensive play on Antetokounmpo.

— Horford just doing Playoff Al things. Horford impacted the game in several areas as he totaled 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four steals. The 35-year-old Horford looked spry defensively as well to be an anchor on that end of the court.


WAGER WATCH

Brown came into the contest shooting just 25 percent from beyond the arc in the postseason, so he had +500 odds to hit at least five 3-pointers. If bettors took the risk with this prop bet, it would have netted them a big reward. Brown sunk six treys, which means a $100 bet would have a total payout of $600.

UP NEXT
The Celtics and Bucks will both get three days off before the series resumes. The series shifts to Milwaukee for Game 3, which will take place at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Fiserv Forum.

112288

Rest will really help Marcus and Jaylen.

Great defensive effort.  There was less double teaming.  Al and Grant did a great job on Giannis.

Celts moved the ball well except in the 3rd when things were crawling along and the refs didn't help.  How can the refs let Giannis run into and over defenders?

Celts did not turn the ball over a lot and they won the glass.  The Jays dropped 59 but I have to give the game ball to Grant (21) points.

Nice break before game 3 is most welcomed so that Marcus and Jaylen can heal up.

Also shout out to AH. His level of play has been extraordinary.

Concerned about Jaylen's hamstrings. He became a little tentative in the 2nd half. Expecting a heavy weight punching bout in Game 3. The Celts will have to execute and keep composure.

These need to solve the Jrue Holiday puzzle, the way he nudges the bigs out and then puts back his own rebounds! Just need to figure out his slow-mo hesitation.

Looking forward to the Celts taking Game 3.

RWill had a better game but he is still not back. Hopefully he keeps improving.

Thank MIL for waking the snoozing Giant. Can't have a lapse back to G1 in G3 coming up. Going to have to win both in MIL so there is no doubt who is moving on. Learn from Doc's gaff about wrapping it up sooner rather than later.

Couple of observations. Why was Theis in the dog house? Probably could have used him last night unless Ime saw something.

Thank God we have a tandem. Brown clearly took G1 to heart and went off early and often. Then throw an accurate GW in there and the Fountain O' Youth AH. I'm sensing RWIII is still not at full strength yet but effective. He's gotten out of his alley oops with MS out but also his block from behind gig, at least in that game. White did do a long tribute pass to RWIII that resulted in a foul.

Also about White, even though he didn't score he is always doing something not necessarily showing up in the stat sheet. He'll have the summer to work on his scoring. If his scoring comes out and improves consistently, Great! But keep doing the little things. Ime thought enough and it was important enough for him to start in MS's place.

All in all, a thorough AW. The string of 3's at the end to get the lead back in the 20's was preparing MIL to get ready to watch the ECF from the comfort of their own living rooms.

We do have to finish the second half of the parlay set up by losing G1 and take one or two in MIL. I'd prefer both. Got to put the fire out before it even starts. A G3 MIL win puts us back in the same hole for G2 we were just in needing to win G4. MIL needs the same pressure followed by an El Foldo G4 performance.

Time to go to our master prognosticator for Saturday's prediction. Dboss, you're up!!

This is the Celtic basketball to which we have become accustomed.

db

Nice bounce back effort.

Shooting was on in a night it was needed. Great first-half by Brown, playing through injury, and big team effort in Smart’s absence. GWilliams continues to step up. Good to get 3 days rest going into Milwaukee, especially for Smart and Brown.

Lack of ability to get inside and score, with two nice exceptions in the 4th, is a major concern. If the Bucks strategy is to take away the paint, and live or die with our 3-point shooting, we have a problem. It would be hard to count on last night’s outburst of 3s happening 3 more times. More is needed from White, as well.

THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!

Great team effort!

I have to question the number of times the ref's had to review their calls when it was plan and obvious it was just a plain foul. It was as though they were amateur ref's call their first game or someone had money on the game.

You know we need to stop what is coming in the beginning of game 3. They will try to blow us out early. It will be interesting to see how IME plans on handling this.

112288

This series is gonna be a further dogfight, how Jaylen responds to the every other day games which will be coming up right after game 3 is going to be crucial. The medical staff therefore is also key for us winning this series. Jaylen with a scintillating breathtaking first half that got us the big lead, then we just had to hold on from there. Tatum finally got it going in 4th, GWill, Al and RWill all great in containing Giannis. Refs pissed me off letting Giannis charge right into bodies and getting the calls, even Van Gundy was saying these are obvious charging fouls and “when did they change the rules”

RWill also hit a mid range jumper, great to see. Great team effort, winning without Smart and despite White, who despite the shooting woes, doesn’t show me enough skills as a point either; unless dribbling the ball upcourt and getting it in hands of a J is miraculous talent or strategy? JRich could be doing everything White is doing and hit at least a few shots.

Hi,
I'm glad that the plot for this game was outlined in the first few minutes. The Celtics started with what many suggested they should do but didn't in G1 - mid-range jumpers.
I wonder why Bucks didn't do anything about it, as if they didn't expect it.
The stagnation in 3rd and 4th quarters I attribute to just being tired. Plus JB was fighting with hamstring.
The ball of the game I'd give to Grant.
The most important thing about this game is Celtics blowing Bucks off the water and showing them and selves that we're a better team.

AK

What has gone unnoticed is Giannis has had two crappy games.  If we had been anywhere close to regular shooting in G1, we'd be up 2-0.  

Yeah, the 3-ball frenzy has to stop or at least mix it up a little.  What happened to us going at their strongest weapon?  For us on offense it would be heading to the paint and getting fouled.  Fouls were down for MIL in G2 which is supported by all our threes.  Just a better inside/outside mix will suffice.  

I think White is more like a budding Marcus Smart.  Lots of things he does we've pointed out do not show up on the stat sheet.  Scoring will catch up.  He looked a little tentative last night and kept missing his shots all coming off the rim in the same spot.  But some more "O" from him wouldn't hurt us a bit.

Giannis I guess is getting the "Jordan Rules/Fouls" treatment.  To which Jordan said, "So?!"  Implying it is up to us to work around and through him.  So far, his shooting has been atrocious just like...ummm...what's that guy's name again....Oh yeah, Kryrie. And we gave him for freebie G1. Giannis has sucked in both the first two with the stellar D. More like KD.

db

Couldn't stay on Game On last night, something crazy was going on everytime I tried to post, Here's hoping it is all resolved. BobC had same issues

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Couldn't stay on Game On last night, something crazy was going on everytime I tried to post, Here's hoping it is all resolved.  BobC had same issues

I had the same issue. I cannot believe my opening post went through because it kept getting rejected.

112288

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Couldn't stay on Game On last night, something crazy was going on everytime I tried to post, Here's hoping it is all resolved.  BobC had same issues

It looked like the entire Forumotion.net world was down. I went there to see what was up and I got the same error message, a rotating symbol with a 6-digit number.

I've seen that same rotating icon during "maintenance" events as well as when too many people try to post at the same time (called overflow, I believe). I was hoping it was the latter, but as time went on, it seemed to be system wide.

It was just a case of bad timing.

We gave back a big chunk of points in the 3rd and part of the 4th.  You need to keep Tatum from playing point.  We had numerous turnovers and poor shot selections with him handling the ball.  Hopefully with Smart back in the lineup this will end.

Tatum is best when he can maneuver without the ball, get free and set his feet up for a good shot.  When he hit that key 3 point shot on the side court in the 4th when Milwaukee was coming strong, it was him moving without the ball.

112288

112288 wrote:

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Couldn't stay on Game On last night, something crazy was going on everytime I tried to post, Here's hoping it is all resolved.  BobC had same issues

I had the same issue.  I cannot believe my opening post went through because it kept getting rejected.

112288

I kept poking at the site and noticed that your post-game thread did get through. The site was still acting up, but because your post showed up meant (to me) that the powers that be were working on it and they were having some success.

Well, it's obvious now that we needed to bench Marcus Smart in favor of D. White and his offensive firepower.

I'm glad Jaylen gets three days to recuperate his hammy. What a wonderous first half he had - just the boost we needed.

Jaylen with a phenomenal 1st half (Hell!  He had 17 in the first quarter!) and an almost non-existent 5 point 2nd one.  I'm worried about him hammy.  He kept reaching for it.  In addition to his 30 on 11-18, 6-10 from 3, he also had 6 assists and only 2 turnover, 2 steals.  You cannot ask for a better bounce back game from Robin.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Jaylen Brown: "It’s the playoffs. That’s it. Survival of the fittest." Says his hamstring is good and he'll be ready for Game 3.

VERY good news, indeed.  Let's see if he's still saying that today after the adrenaline has worn off.





Tatum with the mirror opposite game, time-wise.  Sleepy first half, only 10 points, as Jaylen completely dominated but a 19 point 2nd half.  I suppose I should be ok with them going off one-at-a-time, I suppose only one can score at any time, but if they ever learn how to do their two-man game better than they do now they'll be unstoppable.

Sean Grande
@SeanGrandePBP
With his 10-point 4th quarter in Game 2, Jayson Tatum passed Magic Johnson for 6th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list for players under 25.

He should pass Marquette legend Dwyane Wade in Milwaukee this weekend.




A lot of this has to do with the team you're on.  Kobe had Shaq and deep playoff runs all the way to the Championship.  KD had a mini-super team in OKC with Westbrook and Harden.  Parker had deep playoff runs with Tim and Manu all the way to the Championship.  LeBron came out after high school.  Jayson came to the Celtics halfway into a complete rebuild.




Grant is really blossoming before our eyes, isn't he?  What a game for him, both ends.  21 points has to be a playoff high, maybe even a career high?  7-14, 6-9 from 3.  He outscored the entire Milwaukee bench 21-20.  Most impressively, however, was his defense on, well, just about everybody.  I said numerous times over the last couple of years that we didn't need both Grant and Semi Ojelaye.  They're too similar in build, in roles, in limitations to justify keeping both.  I expected Grant to survive just because, well, he was drafted and under contract.  I think it's safe to say Grant's reality is already much higher than Semi's projection.  Nothing against Semi, I liked him, but Grant is putting on a show in big games.  Through the 6 playoff games this year Grant is 16-29, 55%, from 3.  He doing an absolutely brilliant job of bodying up Giannis.  I loved how, at about :35 of this highlight film, Grant just stood his ground and Giannis bounced backwards.  I really enjoyed watching this 3+ minute highlight film of Grant.  You got to see his impact on the game.  Giannis didn't know how to get around him.  Jrue Holiday who, for some reason, has been able to bully every defender on him couldn't bully Grant.

Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 1 hour ago
Giannis when defended by Grant Williams in Game 2: 8 points, 4-10 FG, 1 TO, 0 shooting fouls in nearly 6 minutes of matchup time. Bucks were 7-16 FG (43.8%) shooting vs Grant in Game 2. But that was a team-best 8.4% below expected per NBA tracking.




Another player doing a great job on Giannis is Al.  It must be the water.  "Ancient Al" Horford comes back to Boston and he's playing like he's 10 years younger.  4 steals for Al.  Kemba's cooked, Al's ascending, Brad's brilliant.

Except for regarding Derrick White.  What a stinker of a game.  Credit for 5 assists and only 2 turnovers but that's not enough from a starting point guard playing 28 minutes.  0-6?  Really, Derrick?  Awful.  His defense was soft too.  Not ready to throw out the baby with the bathwater, yet, but he's got to pull his head out of his arse soon.  If Ime's only going to go with an 8 man roster when we're healthy, he played 7 last night with Smart out, and you're one of those 8 you have got to pull your weight and then some and Derrick White didn't.


Sean Grande
@SeanGrandePBP
Entering this series, the Celtics had never had a playoff game in franchise history whey they attempted more 3's than 2's.

It's happened in both games to start this series.



Not sure I'm happy about this.  Live by the 3, well, you know the rest...


Jay King @ByJayKing
yesterday
Ime Udoka said the Bucks have good rim protectors, “but it’s not Wilt Chamberlain out there.” Lol.

Mark Murphy @Murf56
yesterday
Udoka: "It's not Wilt Chamberlain out there. We can get downhill and attack."

You wouldn't know it from looking at the stats.  They had 54 points in the paint and we only had 24.  One thing we cannot do it do multiple head fakes.  Giannis will be there, even if he's flying in from Woburn, for the 2nd head fake.  One fake, go up strong and force them to make a clean play.  If you get blocked you get blocked but if they don't block you after that 1st fake you've got a bucket or a trip to the line.  If you don't shoot after the 1st fake you almost certainly will get blocked.


Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Grant Williams: "We all celebrate each other and lift each other up. That's something I take pride in because I love winning and I think this team does as well and that's our whole mentality, our whole culture."

They did what they needed to do, they got a split.  Now we've got to do what we need to do and win one on the road too.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401433611


Bob


.

Ummm, win both there, Jared!

db