The Bucks started out blistering hot but Jayson Tatum and the Celtics walked a 14-point lead down to 2 with a 10-0 run to close the first quarter. The Celtics lead got up to 14 thanks to Paul George turning into an absolute flamethrower in the second quarter and Derrick White doing a bit of everything. The third quarter featured a very balanced sheet with eight different guys scoring for Boston. Payton Pritchard caught fire in the fourth to put it away.
WHAT THE BOX SCORE TELLS YOU
– This was Mitchell Robinson’s best game: He was 6-6 for 12 points and catching lobs all over the place. He had four offensive rebounds, two assists, four steals, and block.
“He was amazing with his effort, his energy,” Paul George said in his walk-off interview. “Everything that he does well, he put it on display. He made a big impact”
– Paul George was on fire: 27 points on 11-18 shooting (5-10 3pt), with 20 of those coming in the first half and 16 in the second quarter. Offensively, he was the engine behind the 18-0 Boston run that flipped this game early on, scoring eight straight to start the second.
– So was Jayson Tatum … at least in the first quarter: 21 points, four rebounds, and six assists feels like a pedestrian game from Tatum, but he was Boston’s rock in the first quarter. He put up 16/3/2 in the first 12 minutes, and he was the maestro behind Boston’s slow walkdown of Milwaukee’s early lead.
– Mike Conley started!: Yes, that’s his name at the top of the box score. He played 10:26, hit a three and was -11 in 20-point win, but that was not really his fault. The Bucks were hitting everything regardless of who was guarding them in the first few minutes of the game.
– The turnovers and rebounds won the math: The Celtics had 20 offensive rebounds and 12 steals, which led to a 95-79 advantage in field goal attempts. From a pure math perspective, that’s going to give you a great chance of winning a game.
WHAT THE BOX SCORE WON’T TELL YOU
– The second quarter defense was incredible: It actually started in the first quarter, but the Celtics held the Bucks scoreless for 6:28 during their 18-0 run, stealing the ball four times, and holding Milwaukee to 1-9 shooting (0-5 3pt). The defense was active and swarming.
Tatum (10) and George (8) scored all the points in that run, by the way.
– Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson figuring it out? Well whaddya know, these two connected on a lob.
Robinson caught a few lobs in this game, and his energy was really good. It’s especially great to see after he was listed as questionable with an illness. I was afraid he’d miss the game and it’d be a setback. Instead he came out and played great.
– Neemias Queta recovered after a rough start: His first stint was awful, but his third-quarter effort was incredible. He was 0-4 to start the game and he looked like a guy who ate a bucket of cheese curds right before the opening tip. He was 3-3 to start the third and was personally responsible, through scoring and screening, for the 7-0 run to start the second half.
– Derrick White, the hustler: He did a little bit of everything, finishing with nine points, seven assists, three rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. But this play was my favorite.
Look at everything he did on this play. He jumped, turned with the intention of throwing the ball off someone to retain possession, recognized Paul George was wide open, and flung George the pass before landing. The only thing I can do after I jump is land, and even that’s not going perfectly 100% of the time.
– Sam Hauser did a cool thing: You won’t see a buzzer-beater like this very often.
– Joe Mazzulla is hugging everybody:
He got Paul George and Payton Pritchard in this game. I didn’t know he was going to spread so much love during games this season. What an unexpected storyline.
REVISITING THE PREVIEW
Here’s what I wrote before the game. Let’s see how close I was.
“Turnovers: The Celtics scored 15 points off 10 first-half turnovers in their first matchup, but it was only two points off five turnovers in the second half. Was that because Boston backed off the aggressiveness, or did the Bucks figure something out? The answer will determine whether Boston is able to build a big lead again or if this will be a fight.”
They got 19 points off 15 Bucks turnovers, winning that battle by eight. So it wasn’t an avalanche of turnovers, but it was a factor in the game, especially in the 18-0 run.
“Hitting shots: Yes, I understand I’m being Mr. Obvious by saying the team that hits shots will win. HOWEVER, the reason I bring this up is that Milwaukee is currently shooting a little worse at home than they are on the road. Jaime Jaquez Jr. is shooting 51.7% on the road but 45.5% at home. Myles Turner is shooting 48% on the road but 30% at home. AJ Green is shooting 47.8% on the road but 41.4% at home. Those are key role players who are weirdly worse at home. If they can’t hit shots, it won’t matter if Tyler Herro gets hot or not.”
Jaquez Jr. was 0-2 from three, Turner was 0-3, and AJ Green was 1-5, so the guys I highlighted were a combined 1-10 from deep, which is 10%. Overall, they shot 4-17, which is 23.5%. So I’ll take the win on that even though Kyle Kuzma was 6-13 on the night.
“White and Pritchard building on success: They both had great shooting nights in Charlotte. I’m hoping starting Queta keeps some continuity that allows both of them to keep their roll going.”
Pritchard hit three triples to start the fourth and was 4-11 for the game. White was 1-5. So give me partial credit on this one.
“Prediction: I also don’t think it gets as out of hand as the first game. I’m going with a comfortable 115-99 win.”
This was almost dead on. The final was 117-97, so I was one basket off for each team. That’s a winner in my book.
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