© Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports
The slow-starting Milwaukee Bucks lose to the Boston Celtics
The Milwaukee Bucks started out flat, launched a major endgame comeback, but ultimately fell short, losing 116-119 to the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
The Bucks saw their five-game win streak come to an end as they bungled an opportunity to take the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference standings with their fifth loss in 15 games.
The Celtics, on the other hand, rebounded from a sorry 118-121 overtime road loss to the lowly Charlotte Hornets as they tightened their grip on the top spot in the East after improving to 11-3.
Jrue gets the win against his former team
It was the first meeting between the Bucks and their former point guard Jrue Holiday, who found his way to the Celtics through an offseason deal that allowed Milwaukee to land seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard.
Even though he was hardly a factor in his new team’s win, Holiday emerged triumphant in the first of four meetings against his former squad.
Brook Lopez led the Bucks with 28 points. Lillard finished with 27 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo collected 21 points, 13 rebounds, and five assists. Khris Middleton contributed 12 points in the loss.
The Bucks didn’t have a single reserve scoring in double figures as they struggled to score after producing at least 130 points in the last three games.
Jaylen Brown had 26 points for Boston, while Jayson Tatum finished with 23 points, 11 boards, and four assists. Kristaps Porzingis, Boston’s other key offseason acquisition, added 21 points, while Derrick White had 11.
Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla stuck to an eight-man rotation and got double-digit production from his three reserves as Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Al Horford scored a combined 31 points.
Interestingly, Holiday was the only Celtic that didn’t reach double figures, managing just five points and one assist, although he had eight boards.
Slow start proved costly
Boston scored the game’s first 10 points as Milwaukee failed to score until Malik Beasley hit a three-pointer at the 8:47 mark of the first period.
The Celtics would go on to build leads of as many as 21 points before the Bucks charged back late in the game. Milwaukee moved within 111-115 in the final 20 seconds.
They had a chance to move even closer, but Lillard missed a dunk, and Tatum sealed Boston’s win by sinking two free throws with 11.6 seconds left.
