5 lessons like Kemba Walker, Celtics rally, but fall short vs. Bucks

COMMENT

The Boston Celtics lost their last game before the NBA’s negotiation deadline on Wednesday, dropping to the Milwaukee Bucks by 121-119 in a touching way.

Here’s what happened.

The big picture

After losing by 25 in the second half, the Celtics reacted and were tantalizingly close to stealing their second game against the Bucks this season at the buzzer. With a second remaining, however, Daniel Theis’s 3-point ball hit the bar, and the Celtics lost their second consecutive game.

Game star

Khris Middleton – 27 points, 11 out of 20 shots, 13 rebounds, 4 assists

Middleton and Bobby Portis were crucial and had many looks due to the Celtics’ defensive game plan. But again, as always seems to be the case, Middleton was the Celtics’ killer in the final stretch. The Celtics seem to have nothing for him over the years, and Wednesday was no different.

What it means

The Celtics looked dead in the water at the end of the second half – angry, frustrated and somehow still lifeless.

But Kemba Walker made the game respectable with a flurry of offensives in the third quarter, and the Celtics looked refreshed. They stopped, scored some transition baskets and even had a chance to tie or take the lead.

The Celtics deserve some credit for fighting back. They deserve some criticism for letting the game get out of hand. They deserve some leeway – half of the players in the squad can’t say for sure that they know they’ll be on the team tomorrow at 3:01 pm.

But wins and losses are a zero-sum game and Wednesday was a defeat. Whatever mitigating circumstances the Celtics may claim, they are still at 21-23 with another game against Bucks on Friday.

Apprenticeship

1. Kemba Walker received a lot of criticism this season, and he received a lot of criticism in the first two quarters. Part of it was well deserved – he had four turns in the middle of the third. But Walker responded impressively and accomplished the task that the Celtics so desperately need him to perform throughout the year: he eased some pressure on Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, stepping up while they fought. In the fourth period, he buried a 3-point basket that helped the Celtics close the gap and punished Milwaukee for leaving it open.

“I thought we had just increased our effort, our energy defensively,” said Walker. “That was the most important thing. And whenever we stopped, we got out and ran, and it kind of helped us and we started to have a little more momentum. Obviously, we didn’t do that at the beginning of the game, so we just have to go to the movie and learn from our mistakes ”.

Walker has been intermittent, but he chose a great moment to have perhaps his best game – and without a doubt his best half – of the season.

2. Jeff Teague also played well last week – he finished with 15 points from the 5-on-7 pitch on Wednesday, after an impressive night of pitches on the starting lineup on Monday. Teague is a player with many flaws, but he seems much more comfortable and confident recently.

3. The final move will haunt Daniel Theis for a while. Milwaukee’s defense went out of their way to take the eyes off Brown, Tatum and Walker, and Theis opened up. Theis did everything right, took a good look, kicked with confidence and put the ball directly online.

The shot, however, was a little long. The Celtics bench, which had a direct angle, seemed to think it was good and Theis screamed in frustration.

Very good looking at Theis at the doorbell – shows his frustration after the foul. Pretty surprising Boston was even in this position in the final possession. It showed a real struggle to get back to this one. pic.twitter.com/8hJhIqiNXw

– Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) March 25, 2021

“He intervened and shot with authority,” said Stevens after the game. “It looked good.”

Watching the replay, perhaps Theis could have tried to score a foul on Brook Lopez, who closed the scoring and looked a little out of control. But before you criticize Theis, honestly ask yourself if you would have stood your ground with a 280 pound giant jumping right at you, and if you answered “yes”, ask yourself why you are lying.

4. Jayson Tatum returned to the roster after losing Monday’s game due to illness, but he didn’t look like himself – 18 points in 7-to-19 (1-to-6 out of three) shots.

5. The Celtics sold out trying to stop Giannis Antetokounmpo in the painting with mixed results. Antetokounmpo ended with just 13 points in the 4 in 11 shots, but Milwaukee ended up with six players in double digits, including Khris Middleton’s 27 points in the 11 in 20 shots. The Bucks revolve around Antetokounmpo, but there are a lot of players who can also score. It will be interesting to see if Stevens will employ a similar strategy on Friday, hoping to avoid an equally massive deficit.