Celtics

Jaylen Brown said the Bucks "hit us in the mouth" in Game 1 after Milwaukee cruised to a 101-89 victory on Sunday.

In the third quarter, Smart took shots to his quad on back-to-back possessions. After the whistle blew the play dead, Smart immediately grabbed at his shoulder and let his arm hang down as he called for a Celtics trainer. Boston had never made fewer than 14 2-point shots in a regular-season game or a playoff game prior to Sunday. Brown, who came in with a lingering hamstring injury, shot 4-of-13 from the field while teammate Jayson Tatum was 6-of-18. While the Celtics were 18-of-50 on their 3-pointers, the team shot just 10-of-31 (32.3%) in the paint. "They did a good job and had a good plan but we missed a lot of open shots.

Giannis Antetokounmpo overcame early struggles to post a triple double against Boston, which had looked impressive in its sweep of the Nets.

He played all but a few seconds in the first quarter, took a short break at the start of the second and got some reluctant rest in the third after an ill-advised fourth foul. A three-time All-Star who averaged 20.1 points and 5.4 assists per game in the regular season, Middleton commands plenty of attention with his ability to create his own shot and score in isolation. If Durant is a painter with a palette of fine watercolors, Antetokounmpo is a sculptor wielding a mallet and a chisel. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Celtics appeared, for once, to corral Antetokounmpo into a dead end. But all the while, Antetokounmpo and the Bucks are going about their business as one of the most formidable clubs in the league. When the Celtics tried to funnel Antetokounmpo this way or that, he simply skipped around them, a sports car swerving through traffic. “I try to be as simple as possible,” Antetokounmpo said. And soap operas and train wrecks may draw the focus of fans to other big-market teams. They showed as much last week, in spectacular fashion, when Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the Nets were swallowed up in their quicksand defense. The Boston Celtics have all of those things. You need a player at once big and strong and nimble enough to stay in front of him. You need others, preferably long-armed men, pestering him with their hands from the periphery.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics faced off in Game 1 of their second-round of the playoffs on Sunday afternoon in Massachusetts, and the Bucks won the ...

- CHRIS PAUL MEETS WITH MEDIA AFTER GAME 6: The Phoenix Suns clinched their first-round playoff series with a win over the New Orleans Pelicans in Game 6 on Thursday evening. Even more impressive about their first-round series and their win over the Celtics; they have been playing without Khris Middleton since Game 2 of the first-round due to a knee injury. The Celtics swept the Nets 4-0, and their dominance was a huge shock to the rest of the NBA, because the Nets have superstars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

Giannis Antetokounmpo presents the Celtics with a new challenge, Jayson Tatum crashes to earth and the Bucks shut it down in Boston.

Still, the Celtics must find a way to slow Giannis — easier said than done — and take their chances when the ball goes to Wesley Matthews or Grayson Allen or Pat Connaughton for open looks. He was almost as damaging against the Celtics as Giannis, mainly because Holiday stayed out of foul trouble, impacted the game on both ends, and added nine rebounds and five assists. There’s no firm timetable for Middleton’s arrival, although the original prognosis has him missing the at least the first two games of this series, which would make Game 2 almost a must-win for the Celtics if Middleton indeed is gearing up for a Game 3 return. He only made one second-half basket, and meanwhile, Holiday poured 25 points for the afternoon, a handful on pull-up jumpers, and turned the ball over only twice in 36 minutes. “In a way, it’s good to get this dud out of the way, offensively,” said Celtics coach Ime Udoka. It’s a stark turnaround that doesn’t get much spotlight, but Milwaukee’s about-face is one of the big factors in the NBA this postseason. Evidently, though, the switch flipped after the All-Star break, and this had much to do with the return of Brook Lopez from a back injury that surfaced on Opening Night and sidelined him until April. Quite telling was a sequence when, down 16 in the fourth quarter, he had the ball poked away and was whistled for a foul while he and Wesley Matthews wrestled for it on the floor. In the first round against Chicago, the Bucks held the Bulls under 90 points twice in five games, and now, the Celtics once in one game. For a good portion of the year, the Bucks were passive on defense and at times lousy, especially for a defending champ that prioritized defense. And particularly since he’s coming off a blistering first-round series, one of the finest both-ends acts in Celtics history — which says a lot — with his scoring (29.5 ppg) and defense on Durant. Well, gravity gets everyone at some point, and for Tatum, that came in Game 1 when he finally cooled and appeared a bit flustered and definitely frustrated at times. The bad news is Giannis is a wiser offensive player, his passing and court awareness are crisper, and that’s why his 12 assists were just as damaging, if not more, than his points.

First, Marcus Smart buries a three from the left-wing, then comes the real reason this play made it on the list. Al Horford screens for Jayson Tatum; Wes ...

The Celtics' floor general fires a bounce pass up the court, and Tatum euro steps his way to two points at the rim. Tatum delivers a bounce pass between Allen and Portis to get the ball to Horford as he dives to the rim. He makes a nice move, selling the pump fake before stepping through, but Horford flips his hips and comes from over the top to swat Carter's scoop shot.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scores 24 points, distributes game-high 12 assists while Bucks' physical defense limits Celtics to 89 points in 101-89 win.

With 48 seconds remaining, Tatum drove and kicked it out to White for a three from the right wing that cut Boston's deficit to 76-69. As a team, the Celtics were held to 33.3 percent shooting from the field and went 18/50 (36 percent) from long range. With 4:03 to play, after Antetokounmpo missed a free throw, he picked up his third foul going for the rebound. That put the Bucks ahead 101-87 with 2:10 left, and coach Udoka decided it was time to empty the bench. As a team, the Bucks were 10/20 from beyond the arc, generated 18 fast-break points, 14 off turnovers, and 14 in the paint. Antetokounmpo utilized his height and length to throw the ball over the top of the defense, and he was making simple swing passes to shooters open due to the extra attention required to slow down Antetokounmpo. He also grabbed eight rebounds in the first half. He went with a trainer to the locker room, hunched over, holding his arm. At the 4:10 mark, Tatum stepped into a pull-up three from above the break and buried it, giving him six points and cutting his team's deficit to 45-40. But Grayson Allen countered with his third three of the day, giving him nine points and pushing Milwaukee's lead back to eight. At the 7:41 mark, with the Celtics trailing 33-32, Jaylen Brown missed a three from 25-feet out. The second-year guard drained an open three from the right corner a couple of minutes later to put Boston back on top, 32-31. Antetokounmpo lofted a pass to Wes Matthews for an alley-oop layup that gave Milwaukee a 27-24 advantage entering the second frame.

Giannis Antetokounmpo hurt the Celtics with his passing in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics need a counter.

The Celtics, of course, have played Antetokounmpo often over the years and know how difficult he is to guard. But by forcing the ball out of Antetokounmpo’s hands, the Celtics gave up 3-pointers instead of twos, and the math worked against them in Game 1. On Sunday, Antetokounmpo forced them to take their own medicine. As the Bucks pulled away in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals for a 101-89 victory, Antetokounmpo recorded a triple-double — 24 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists. For three of the other Bucks players, that wasn’t an issue, but Jaylen Brown stepping away from Pat Connaughton gave the sharpshooting guard plenty of room to hit a deep 3-pointer. This time, Smart doubled down on Antetokounmpo to help Robert Williams, likely hoping to force a turnover.

Facing the NBA's No. 1 defense in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Giannis Antetokounmpo was still able to blow people's minds with a crazy ...

I had a good jump to go get it again and I was able to finish the play." "To lose a 12-point game when we shot so poorly bodes well for us. I had the ball and I was like: 'Oh, crap.

BOSTON – It's fair to say that NBA head coaches don't talk a lot of trash. There is confidence, sure. Especially in the Eastern Conference semifinals, ...

“Knowing what was at stake, knowing that we are on the road, coming in here on a Sunday afternoon and not taking it lightly. So just being physical, being a presence, letting things come to us, taking the shots that available to us, playing with confidence, playing with swag, just playing our style of basketball – it doesn’t really matter who’s on the floor for us. If you don’t, the good thing about a seven-game series is there’s a lot of games and a lot of basketball left. Especially in the decisive start to the fourth quarter, when the Bucks stretched an eight-point third quarter lead to as many as 17. They shot just 32.3% in the paint (10-for-31). Boston also scored six points off four offensive rebounds in the first quarter, but scored just eight more off six second chances after that. There would be no “feeling” out the Celtics. No dancing around with a fellow defensive-minded heavyweight. Against the Bulls, there were more four-wing lineups with a singular big. “That’s kind of how they’re built,” Budenholzer said before the game. That’s kind of the battle. The second-seeded Boston Celtics are one of those teams. BOSTON – It’s fair to say that NBA head coaches don’t talk a lot of trash.

Milwaukee certainly looked like the defending champs Sunday afternoon. Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart, and Jaylen Brown will not go down without a fight, however.

Jayson Tatum and the Celtics will look to bounce back in Game 2, on Tuesday night. Anticipate seeing a much different game from the Boston Celtics in Game 2. It would take a lot for the Celtics to shoot much worse than they did in Game 1. Smart only scored 10 points in Game 1, going 3-11 from the field, and 1-6 from the three-point line. One player who needs to have a bigger impact in Game 2, is Marcus Smart. He left the game on Sunday with a right shoulder injury/right quad contusion. A historically poor shooting night for the Boston Celtics resulted in a loss on their homecourt.

The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics face off on Tuesday at the TD Garden in Boston in Game 2 of their NBA Playoffs series.

Celtics vs. Warriors vs. Mavs vs. Celtics vs. Warriors vs. Mavs vs. - 76ers vs. - 76ers vs. As a team, the Celtics shot only 33.3 percent from the field. Being down 0-1 to the reigning NBA champions isn’t an ideal position to be in, but the Celtics have enough in their bag to get a win in Game 2. In games they were favored in by 4 points or more so far this season, the Celtics went 24-25-2 against the spread. The Bucks will limit second chances on their end and limit foul shots but Boston's offense was just a bit more consistent over the year.

Between Lopez and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston was trying to shoot through a field of windmills.

But there's no doubt Lopez and the Milwaukee defense scored a round-one knockdown. Boston wants clean drive and kicks, but Milwaukee was stoning them to such a degree that the kick-out passes were more like bailout passes. By then the Bucks had time to rotate back to shooters and contest. He finished with 21 points but only shot 6 of 18 from the field. Tatum drew the superstar attention, as he should, facing occasional doubles but more often simply seeing two or three help defenders within a step of his driving lanes while dealing with relentless ball pressure. Boston has its own swarming defense, and we saw plenty of it in Game 1. They fought over screens and the wings were on high alert to sink down into driving lanes. After all that, then you run into Lopez. The result: Milwaukee only gave up 20 points in the paint for the entire game. If you are looking to completely discredit single-game plus-minus numbers, look no further than Brook Lopez's minus-10 line in the Milwaukee Bucks' Game 1 victory over the Boston Celtics on Sunday. Lopez was a superhero. Under Mike Budenholzer, the Bucks have long been willing to concede 3-pointers if it means controlling the paint. Jrue Holiday, Javon Carter and Pat Connaughton sucked out all the air between them and Boston's ball-handlers. It felt as if the Celtics were trying to shoot through a field of windmills.

The 2021–22 Defensive Player of the Year took a few hits to his right quad in Sunday's loss.

Smart also had to leave Sunday’s Game 1 with just over a minute remaining in the second quarter after taking a stinger to his right shoulder. Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to go 10-for-31 from the field in the loss. He played for six more minutes before Udoka pulled the Celtics starters from the floor.