Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
What Stood Out from the Celtics' Win vs. Bucks in Game 2: Boston Gets Back to Winning Formula to Tie Series at 1
Missing Marcus Smart in what one could accurately describe as a must-win game, from the opening tip, the Celtics played with a hunger that reflected their determination to avoid going to Milwaukee down 0-2.
Jaylen Brown came out swinging, scoring 17 points in the first quarter and 25 in the opening half. Jayson Tatum contributed 29 points, and after admitting to getting "caught off guard" by the physicality of the Bucks' defense in Game 1, Boston got back to the drive-and-kick operation that ignited their offense when their fortunes turned in the regular season.
The Celtics also held Giannis Antetokounmpo to five points in the first half. He finished with 28, but Grant Williams, in particular, did an outstanding job making him work for everything he got, as Antetokounmpo showed signs of fatigue in the second half of their physical battle.
Now, for a deep dive into how the Celtics won Game 2 to tie the series at one.
Celtics Throw the First Punch
The Celtics jumped out to a 7-0 lead, starting with Jaylen Brown getting a few friendly bounces on a pull-up jumper from above the free-throw line. Then, Giannis Antetokounmpo made an errant pass Brown picked off, and Al Horford hit a shot from a few steps to the right of where Brown scored the game's first points.
After that, Jrue Holiday coughed the ball up, Horford came up with the steal, and after dribble penetration and moving the ball from side-to-side, Brown splashed a three from the left corner.
At the 8:38 mark, Bobby Portis put the Bucks on the board after a bad pass from Brown ignited Milwaukee's transition attack. Portis drove hard to the rim, finishing over Derrick White, drawing a foul on Marcus Smart's stand-in, and cashing in on the ensuing free throw.
On Boston's following possession, Horford caught the ball in front of the rim, but the length of Antetokounmpo caused him to hesitate. Horford couldn't separate from the former league MVP, and when he finally went up for his shot, Antetokounmpo swatted it.
At the 6:52 mark, Jayson Tatum knocked down a three for his first field goal of the game, putting the Celtics ahead 12-3. Grant Williams followed that up with a triple of his own, sending the TD Garden crowd into a frenzy as Mike Budenholzer called for a timeout.
With 4:04 left, Brown attacked Grayson Allen off the dribble, and when he pulled back, Allen fell to the ground, watching as Brown nailed an open jumper to give Boston a 25-10 lead.
Brown then got Antetokounmpo moving forward as he changed pace and stepped back, knocking down another open shot.
In a six-point swing, Payton Pritchard hit a three from the right corner that was correctly overturned during the next break because Pritchard didn't get the shot off in time. After that, Pat Connaughton drilled an open three from the right corner to bring the score to 27-15.
That sparked a 7-0 run for Milwaukee, who finished quarters well to help earn a Game 1 win on the road. Fortunately for Boston, Brown answered with a three from the right wing as the shot clock expired, making a 30-19 game.
After Holiday converted on two free throws, the Bucks pressed but Brown pushed the pace, getting by Wesley Matthews, collapsing the defense, Tatum cut from the opposite corner, and Brown dished to him for two points with 2.2 seconds left in the period. That gave Boston a 32-21 advantage entering the second quarter.
Brown, off to a blistering start, scored 17 points on 6/7 shooting, including 3/3 from beyond the arc. As a team, the Celtics shot 57.1 percent from the field and went 6/8 (75 percent) from long range. They also assisted on eight of their 12 field goals.
Boston defended with physicality, effort, and attention to detail but yielded 12 points in the paint, helping Milwaukee avoid trailing by a higher margin.
Celtics Hold Bucks to 19 Points, Score 33 in the Second Quarter
Pritchard kicked off the second-quarter scoring, drilling a three from the left wing to put Boston ahead 35-21.
At the 8:20 mark, Antetokounmpo tried to steamroll through Grant Williams, but the latter held his ground, forcing Antetokounmpo to settle for a missed floater that clanged off the glass.
Offensively, on multiple occassions, Williams was able to attack out of the corner, including when he got through a narrow corridor between Brook Lopez and Portis for two points from deep in the paint that gave the Celtics a 39-25 lead with 7:29 to play in the quarter.
With 5:11 remaining, Grant Williams drew a charge on Portis, and when he landed, he hit the back of his head hard against the court. As painful as it was, he stayed in the game.
After that, Horford buried a three, Brown swiped the ball from Holiday, and Tatum got fouled going up for a dunk. He made both free throws, giving the home team a 49-29 advantage with 4:38 to go.
Williams continued playing outstanding defense against Antetokounmpo, again stonewalling him, ultimately forcing him to give the ball up. But Holiday swished a baseline jumper as the shot clock ticked down to make it a 49-31 game with 4:14 left.
With 2:37 on the clock, beautiful ball movement by Boston led to an open, in-rhythm three for Pritchard from the right corner, putting the Celtics ahead 57-35. Antetokounmpo countered with a layup and drew a foul on Horford. Both of Antetokounmpo's baskets came from attacking a defense that wasn't set. He then made the free throw, giving him five points, a figure the hosts had to be ecstatic over.
With less than two minutes to play, Williams drilled a left-corner three, Antetokounmpo stepped out of bounds on his drive, then missed a transition layup, and Brown buried a pull-up jumper from 14-feet out, giving Boston a 62-40 lead with 1:02 remaining.
The Celtics continued moving the ball to create open shots, swinging it until they found Brown for a clean look at a three from above the break that gave them a 65-40 advantage heading into halftime.
At the break, the Celtics were shooting 59 percent from the field and 13/20 (65 percent) from beyond the arc. They'd assisted on 17/23 field goals. Assists don't always tell an accurate story about a team's ball movement, but it does for the first two quarters of Game 2.
From an individual standpoint, Brown led all scorers with 25 points on 9/10 shooting, including 5/5 from long range. Grant Williams had 11 points off the bench, and Tatum contributed ten.
Conversely, the Bucks were shooting 42 percent from the field and 2/8 (25 percent) on threes. Holiday paced them with 11 points, but no one else on Milwaukee reached double figures, including Antetokounmpo, who got held to five.
Celtics Go Cold Offensively in the Third Quarter
Antetokounmpo scored the first three points of the third frame. Then, after a Robert Williams layup, he made a three, giving him 11 points and trimming the defending champions' deficit to 67-46. Unfortunately for Milwaukee, Tatum countered with a three of his own.
Antetokounmpo then turned the ball over, leading a fast-break opportunity for Boston. Brown shoveled the ball to Horford, and when he went up, Portis came down hard with two hands, which, after a lengthy review, earned him a flagrant 1. Horford then made both shots at the charity stripe.
At the 7:35 mark, after a Tatum turnover, Derrick White took a take foul to halt a transition opportunity for the Bucks; that was White's fourth foul, a concerning prospect with Smart not available.
Halfway through the third quarter, a development that stood out was Boston repeatedly passing up open shots, including a potential Horford layup. With six minutes left, the Celtics had only scored seven points.
With 5:57 remaining, Antetokounmpo tried to pivot past Grant Williams but inadvertently swung his elbow into Williams' face. After replay, it was deemed not to be a flagrant foul.
At the 5:11 mark, Antetokounmpo worked his way by Williams for two points at the cup, and Holiday then knocked down a jumper off the dribble to pull Milwaukee within 16 with 4:50 left. That forced Ime Udoka to take a timeout to try to jump start a Celtics' offense that had completely lost its rhythm.
After the break, after Lopez elevated to deny Brown's dunk attempt, Grant Williams drilled a three from the left wing to put Boston ahead 75-56. Tatum followed that with a pull-up jumper as the shot clock wound down, giving him 15 points.
With three minutes on the game clock, Antetokounmpo barreled over Robert Williams, which easily could've gotten called an offensive foul. But in a league where stars get officiated more favorably, it got ruled a blocking foul, sending Antetokounmpo to the line for a chance at a three-point play. He missed the free throw, and the score remained 77-60.
Tatum countered with a bucket in the paint and drew a foul on Jevon Carter, but like Antetokounmpo, he couldn't turn it into a three-point play.
After that, a bad pass from Carter fueled a Celtics' fast-break, and Robert Williams threw down a thunderous transition jam to put Boston on top 81-60.
With 1:41 to play, Tatum jumped an outlet pass from Antetokounmpo, then finished above the rim to put the Celtics ahead 83-60.
With 53.6 seconds remaining, after Antetokounmpo scored on Horford, exhausted, he held onto the ball as he started walking up the floor, earning him a delay of game. The field goal made the score 83-64.
With just under 30 seconds to go, Carter found Portis for a dunk that capped off a 6-0 run by the Bucks to close the quarter and get them within 17, 83-66, entering the final frame.
Defending Champs Make Their Run, but Never Cut Boston's Lead to Single Digits
Most of Robert Williams' scoring comes at the rim, but he has good touch on his mid-range jumpers, something he demonstrated a minute into the period, cashing in on a 14-footer to extend the hosts' lead to 85-68. After a Portis jump shot, Brown responded with a pull-up three from the left-wing, pushing Boston's advantage back to 18, 88-70.
At the 9:38 mark, Tatum got a technical for complaining about an offensive foul call against him on the previous possession. The Celtics, including coach Udoka, had to calm Tatum down. Fortunately for Boston, Allen missed the free throw.
With 8:46 remaining, Lopez picked up his fifth foul and had to come out of the game; Portis took his place on the floor. Less than a minute later, Robert Williams did the same, but he stayed in the game, then blocked Antetokounmpo. After that, he went to the bench for Horford.
After a Connaughton layup, Grant Williams buried a three from the right corner, giving Boston an 91-73 advantage with 7:34 on the clock. And with just under 5:49 to play, Tatum converted on a tough layup after some fancy footwork, putting the Celtics ahead 94-78.
With 4:05 remaining and Boston in need of a basket, Tatum delivered. After giving the ball up to Brown, he relocated to the corner, got the ball back, and knocked down a three late in the shot clock to give the Celtics a 97-82 lead.
Holiday attacked off the make, earning a foul on Horford and a trip to the free-throw line where he capitalized on both free throws. But Brown countered, securing a missed three from Pritchard and laying it in to give the home team a 99-84 advantage with 3:24 left.
Antetokounmpo could've easily gotten whistled for a charge after that, again barreling into Grant Williams, but the officials let it go, and his layup brought Milwaukee within 13, 99-86, with 3:13 to go.
With 2:26 left, Tatum again drove, relocated to the corner, got the ball back and buried another three from the right corner, putting the Celtics ahead 104-86. It also gave Tatum 29 points.
Grant Williams then drilled a three from the opposite corner, his sixth three of the game. That gave him 21 points, represented an 8-0 run for Boston, and put the hosts on top 107-86. After that, coach Budenholzer waved the white flag and emptied his bench.
The Celtics converted on 20/43 (46.5 percent) of their threes. They also assisted on 28 of 38 field goals in their win. That ball movement was paramount to them shooting well, something also seen when they began settling for shots after one pass and lost their rhythm offensively.
Boston also had ten steals and turned 17 Milwaukee turnovers into 24 points at the other end.
Thanks to his 25-point first half, Brown registered a game-high 30 points. He shot 11/18 from the field, including 6/10 from beyond the arc. He also dished out six assists, grabbed five rebounds, and swiped two steals.
Brown's right hamstring tightened up at times during the second half. After the game, coach Udoka said: "It may tighten up during games; he's playing heavy minutes," later adding: "Being that we were up in the 16-18 range, we wanted to get him out."
As for Tatum, the three-time All-Star generated 29 points on 10/20 shooting, including 5/10 on threes. He also had a game-high eight assists, and had three steals.
While Antetokounmpo finished with 28 points, he only had five at halftime, and as evidenced by his delay of game violation in the final minute of the third quarter, getting himself going took a lot out of him.
As much as Boston's success against him -- relatively speaking -- was a team effort, Grant Williams, in particular, deserves credit for doing an outstanding job battling him, and staying in front of the former league MVP in a physical matchup.
Another impressive aspect of how well the Celtics guarded the defending champions was their effectiveness protecting the three-point line, holding the Bucks to 3/18 (16.7 percent) from beyond the arc. Milwaukee scored 54 points in the paint, and as much as Boston will want to clean that up, this formula held the Bucks to 86 points in a win the Celtics desperately needed as this series heads to Milwaukee.
Up Next
Game 3 between the Celtics and Bucks tips off Saturday afternoon at 3:30 ET. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.
Further Reading
Marcus Smart OUT for Game 2; Where the Celtics Go from Here
What Stands Out About Celtics-Bucks Second-Round Schedule
Report: Khris Middleton Expected to Miss Entire Second-Round Series vs. Celtics
Ime Udoka Provides Update on Jaylen Brown's Hamstring Tightness
