Between the Celtics who have already reached their cruising speed and the Bucks who are still wondering where they should go, the shock could have turned into a correction on Monday. Fortunately for the show and the fans of the Wisconsin team, this was not the case. However, this was not enough for Giannis Antetokounmpo's gang to succeed in bringing down the outgoing champion, winning 119-108. Boston is already 4-0, the Bucks are slowly but surely sliding towards a state of emergency with a third loss in four games.
There was nevertheless better for Milwaukee, which held 33 minutes eye to eye with the league reference, the day after a frankly worrying match in Brooklyn. The duo Giannis Antetokounmpo – Damian Lillard had until then held the house offensively (24 points each then, 63 points ultimately between them), but it was especially on the other side of the floor that Doc Rivers' men did rather well. played the trick.
An 18-2 as a knockout.
By limiting the Celtics' ball circulation, forcing loose balls and containing Jayson Tatum well, the visitors were still in the game with a little more than two minutes to play in the third quarter (79-80).
But Boston is decidedly irresistible and has found its dynamite in Payton Pritchard. Already decisive in the first period with his skill (19 points at rest at 5/8 at 3-points), Joe Mazzulla's offensive joker released his special feature: the long shot at the buzzer or almost to dampen the opposing hopes. His winning shot just before the third quarter siren punctuated an 11-2, initiated by Derrick White, to end the period. Before he drove home the point with another long shot at the start of the fourth quarter, in the middle of an 18-2 lead after less than four minutes.
Milwaukee tried to recover, coming back to eight points… Moment chosen by Payton Pritchard to register his eighth 3-point shot of the evening and fold the affair.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Discreet Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard to the rescue. Coming off the bench, Payton Pritchard was the perfect far). Brown, for his part, was true to himself, aggressive to good effect (10/14 on free throws) and ideal substitute offensive leader. This is also one of the strengths of Joe Mazzulla's team, capable of withstanding a “small” match from his franchise player by finding other solutions.
– Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo there but too alone. The two Bucks stars did not shy away from their responsibilities, quite the contrary. Lillard undermined the Celtics defense throughout the match, unable to prevent him from causing fouls. That's for the tails side. The opposite side sees the tandem score 63 of their 108 points, with almost 60% of the shots scored by Milwaukee in this match. The lack of reinforcement was felt – 39% shooting for the rest of the team -, and the “Greek Freak” had to force himself at the end of the match (only 6 points, 3 lost balls) to try to fill the gap. 'gap, in vain.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
