After the setback of Game 1 and with Marcus Smart’s loss confirmed, there were not a few who saw the future of the tie for Boston quite dark. However, instead of feeling such setbacks, the greens showed pride last night celtic with an enormous performance that not only served to win the Bucks, but to go over them with a resounding 109-86.
The Celtics’ performance over the Garden reminded us of that team that had a spectacular second half of the regular season and swept the Nets. From minute one, the second game was dominated by them. The 7-0 with which they opened the match was not a mirage, but a warning of what was to come. At the end of the first quarter they won by 11 points and at halftime they were already 25… It was a blow of authority, one with which they make it clear that they are a great threat to Milwaukee’s current reign in the NBA.
“It’s the playoffs. That’s it. We can’t let one game dictate how a series unfolds. We wanted to be aggressive from the beginning”, says Jaylen Brown, who redeemed himself from his bad first game by going up to 30 points (25 in the first half) and also adding 5 rebounds and 6 assists.
The truth is that it was a great night for the Celtics’ star pair of forwards. Jayson Tatum also shone to get up to 29 points and 8 assists. And if anything was missing, Grant Williams added another 21 off the bench with a terrific 6-for-9 from 3-point range. The shot from outside worked for the Masachussets (20 of 43) and Ime Udoka ended up more than satisfied.
“We wanted to match their physique and hit them back tonight. It was a great message to show them who we are”, expresses the head coach of the Celtics, who also highlighted that they caused up to 16 turnovers of the rival to convert them into 24 points.
Antetokounmpo under control
Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated the first game of the series, but last night it was not so easy. He went up to 28 points, but could not reach the triple-double being limited to nine rebounds and seven assists. He himself comments that he feels that the Celtics are doing everything in their power to complicate his life, especially when he approaches the basket.
“They are strong bodies, they are always active and they are very physical, that’s all. It has become more difficult to find teammates when they close in on you”, analyzes the two-time MVP.
Even without the collaboration of Khris Middleton, who in principle will miss the entire tie, the support for the Greek came again from Jrue Holiday, author of 19 points and 7 assists. Bobby Portis for his part added 13 points and 8 rebounds. The series travels to Wisconsin at 1-1.
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)