Bucks Zone

Damian Lillard points to slow start as the culprit in the Milwaukee Bucks' loss to the Boston Celtics

The Bucks got off the gates late and paid dearly for it.
Jonas Panerio|
© Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

Milwaukee BucksBoston Celtics

Games may not be won in the first quarter, but playing poorly to start a game can still cost a team victory. Damian Lillard knows this all too well, as his Milwaukee Bucks fell to the Boston Celtics, 119-116, on Wednesday night.

Lillard pointed to the first half of play as being the deciding factor for the team's loss.

"When you look at how we played, we just didn't execute well," Lillard said.

Couldn't put the ball in the basket

As maligned as the Bucks' defense has been this season, their offense is another story. The team ranks fourth in the league in points per game and fifth in offensive rating, which means the team normally doesn't have a hard time putting the ball in the basket. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case on Wednesday night, as the Bucks couldn't buy a bucket and trailed by as much as 21 points in the first half.

Middleton went 0 for 6, failing to convert five shots from within 12 feet. Antetokounmpo struggled as well, shooting 4 for 13, with six of his misses occurring from 10 feet or closer. Lillard's performance wasn't much better, going 3 for 11, with three of his misfires happening within 11 feet.

"When you miss a lot of shots, usually it's what the opposing team is doing," Lillard said of the Bucks' sluggish start that saw them miss their first 10 shots and fall behind 21-8.

"We didn't have good pace to our offense, we didn't make extra passes, we didn't screen for each other; a lot of things we have to do."

Even though the Bucks made it interesting in the game's dying seconds, pulling to within three, 114-111, after a Lillard three, their first-half performance — and their poor shooting — proved too much to overcome.

High-energy game

Though the loss still stung, Lillard put things in perspective after the game, saying it was just a regular-season game between the two best teams in the Eastern Conference. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn't that big of a deal.

"We knew neither one of us was going to win the championship tonight," Lillard added.

"The thing that made it a high-level game is they were the first team in the East, and we were the second. The winner walks away No. 1 right now, which means nothing. A lot of high-level players on their team, a lot of high-level on ours."

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

Published
Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO