Bucks Zone

Adrian Griffin sees “a lot of positives” in the loss to the Boston Celtics

The Bucks are keeping their heads even after losing to the Celtics.

Matthew Dugandzic

© Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
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Coach Adrian Griffin was still proud of his players even after the Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Boston Celtics in a defeat that sent their season-high five-game win streak to an abrupt end on Wednesday night.

Griffin said the Bucks did a lot of good things in their 116-119 loss to the Celtics, adding that the team showed tremendous character that will benefit the squad as the season goes on.

“There’s a lot of positives to take away. Tale of two games. First half, I thought, you have to execute at a high level. We missed a lot of shots around the rim that we normally make. But you got to play through those, you got to keep playing, and I thought we did that in the second half,” Griffin said.

Failed comeback bid

Milwaukee went scoreless in more than three minutes to start the game, allowing the Celtics to race to a blistering 10-0 start. Boston went on to lead by as many as 20 points in the second quarter before the Bucks fought back in the second.

Milwaukee got within four points late in the game but just couldn’t pull through.

“I thought it was Bucks basketball in that second half,” said Griffin, whose team failed to reach the 130-point mark for the first time in the last four games.

Griffin said the Bucks did what they needed to do, which enabled them to nearly pull off a huge comeback.

“You just got to multiply it to two. You got to close out harder, you got to run back harder, you got to jump higher, you got to be more physical, and I thought we did it in the second half,” the first-year Milwaukee bench tactician said.

Missed opportunity

The loss denied the Bucks from seizing the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference standings. They instead dropped to a four-way tie in second place.

Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Miami, and Orlando now hold similar 10-5 records.

It was indeed a missed opportunity to move up in the standings, but Milwaukee at least showed it has the ability to fight back.

“Our team is resilient, and we showed a lot of character in that second half. We easily could have caved in, but we showed a lot of good fight. So, I was proud of the team tonight. Nobody’s hanging their heads, we know we can play a lot better,” said Griffin.

The slow-starting Milwaukee Bucks lose to the Boston Celtics

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Matthew Dugandzic
MATTHEW DUGANDZIC

Matthew finished his bachelor's degree in Economics (Management) at the University of Split and got his master's degree in the same field at the University of Zadar. Whether it is playing the game as an undersized 6'3'' power forward or simply watching it, Matthew can't get enough of it. After all, he has been an avid NBA fan since the 2000s. But don't get him wrong, as Matthew still loves the old-school NBA and is a true student of the game. From on-court moments to off-court stuff, whether it's about the stars of modern-day basketball or legends of the game, Matthew covers every category of the NBA world and basketball in general, as long as it makes for an engaging and exciting story.