The Milwaukee Bucks picked up their second win in the month of December, taking down the third-seeded Boston Celtics, 116-101, after overcoming a rough opening six minutes of the game. Kyle Kuzma set a new
season-high with 31 points, while Bobby Portis added another 27 off the bench. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 30 points on 10/17 shooting.
Game Recap
The Bucks fell behind big in the first quarter for the third straight game at Fiserv Forum. After the Celtics made it a six-point game and Doc Rivers called a timeout, they outscored the Bucks 9-2 to take a 21-8 lead midway through the first quarter. Boston’s three-point prowess was on display, starting the game 5/7 from beyond the arc. Despite that, Milwaukee found a way to chip into Boston’s lead, thanks to Gary Trent Jr. and Bobby Portis. They helped spark a 19-7 run to bring the game within one point with 1:30 left in the frame. The former All-Star Jaylen Brown took over on the Celtics’ final two possessions, hitting a three and then a step-back mid-range jumper to put Boston up by six, 35-29, heading into the second.
Even with the positives at the end of the first quarter, the Bucks quickly fell behind by double digits in the second quarter. After Jordan Walsh finished an and-one opportunity to put Boston up by 10, they went on an 8-4 run to get up to their largest lead of the night at 14 points, 52-38, with 6:16 left in the quarter. Milwaukee would swing back again, though, with a 16-6 run, thanks in part to eight straight points from Kyle Kuzma. A Ryan Rollins three would polish off the run, getting Boston’s lead down to just four with 2:49 left in the first half. The Bucks stayed in contact and had it within four points with 16 seconds left. Yet, after Cole Anthony helped double Derrick White, he found Walsh open in the corner for a three, and he buried it with just seconds on the clock; the three put the C’s up by seven going into the locker room, 67-60.
Kuzma continued his impressive play from the second quarter into the third. After falling behind by double-digits again, Kuzma scored seven of the Bucks’ nine points to get the game back within two. The Bucks were then finally able to take the lead, thanks to some Kevin Porter Jr. free throws. They expanded that lead when BP hit three straight buckets, including a mid-range fadeaway over Brown; of course, Portis taunted him right after, resulting in a technical foul. After the technical free throw, the Celtics’ offense went cold, scoring just two points in the final 3:34 of the quarter—and the Bucks took advantage. Milwaukee outscored Beantown 5-2 over that stretch, with a couple of makes from the rarely used Cole Anthony. The run sent the Bucks to the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead, 87-80.
Portis caught fire right at the start of the fourth, nailing back-to-back shots on the first two possessions. It was part of an opening 11-4 run by Milwaukee to get their largest lead of the night at 14 points. The home team continued to ride Portis’ hot hand, hitting two more threes to put the Bucks up by 17. With the Celtics unable to get out of their shooting slump, the Bucks kept pushing the issue, going up by 20 points with just over three minutes left. That was more than enough for the Bucks to put the cue in the rack, as they cruised to the 15-point win.
Stat That Stood Out
The Boston Celtics in the 2020s have been defined by taking and making many shots from the three-point line. Coming into this season, even without Jayson Tatum, they sat at 11th in the league in three-point percentage (36.9) and third in attempts (43.3). After going 11-21 (52.4%) in the first half from deep, the Celtics started the second half with 16 straight misses from three-point range. They didn’t make their first three of the half until the 7:38 mark of the fourth quarter. Altogether in the second half, the Celtics shot 3/28 (10.7%) from three.
