The duel at the top of the Eastern Conference between Boston and Milwaukee came to an end last night at the Garden. There was in fact almost no match despite the 3-point difference in the final score, as the Celtics dominated the debates, setting the tone for the first minutes of the match.
The locals indeed attacked with a scathing 10-0, with a huge dunk and a 3-pointer from Jaylen Brown to set the tone. Jayson Tatum, even ill, was quick to start his match, while the 3-pointers from the White-Hauser-Horford trio quickly increased the gap (29-17). The TD Garden could appreciate the show, between the fireworks from afar continued by the Pritchard-Hauser-Tatum-Horford quartet to bring the gap to +20 (51-31) and the Kristaps Porzingis show, perfectly highlighted by Jaylen Brown.
First there was an alley-oop at a very high altitude above Brook Lopez, a 3-pointer, then two dunks including a masterful poster on Brook Lopez in transition (65-45). The latter nevertheless did his best to keep Milwaukee alive at the break while the Lillard-Middleton-Antetokounmpo triplet had not seen the light of day (67-53).
The three leaders of the Bucks returned with other intentions after the break, even if all their efforts were not enough to shake Boston. With Jayson Tatum and a Derrick White again aggressive in attack, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis once again feasted to help maintain the gap, the two players once again making each other shine in turns (94-79).
Very quickly, Kristaps Porzingis’ dunk and Jrue Holiday’s 3-pointer (his first basket of the match) restored a 20-point gap (99-79). Enough to secure an easy victory at +20 ten minutes from the end? Almost.
After the Brook Lopez project, author of 10 points in five minutes, and thanks to numerous much more aggressive defensive sequences, it was Damian Lillard who suddenly woke up, scoring 11 of his team’s next 14 points, with a few nuggets 3-pointers including a shot on the head of Jaylen Brown to bring Milwaukee to -3 (114-111)! Unfortunately for him, his last opportunity to shorten the gap when the score was 115-111 turned into a fiasco, since after dropping Derrick White, his dunk attempt failed at the front of the circle, offering the victory final in Boston on a plateau, despite a final 3-pointer from Malik Beasley at the buzzer (119-116).
MATCH ACTION
One of the highlights of the evening, when Kristaps Porzingis took over Milwaukee’s defense by scoring 9 points in the space of 100 seconds! It all started with this delight of combination between Jaylen Brown and the Latvian found in the air to conclude an alley-oop over Brook Lopez, a sequence highlighting the growing understanding between the two players. Then, a few moments later, Brook Lopez caught the lightning again, when KP posterized him on a counterattack led by Derrick White.
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Celtics’ dream first half. We came close to the demonstration while Boston still led by 20 points ten minutes from the end. Rather than the narrow end to the match, we will remember the first half close to perfection on the Celtics side. With this 10-0 start, a Brown-Tatum-Porzingis trio in tune which contrasted with the “Big Three” of the Bucks then on the street, but also each of the “role players” to bring their contribution to the building , from Sam Hauser to Payton Pritchard including the immovable Al Horford, the closest player to a triple-double with his 11 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
– Damian Lillard kept up appearances. The Bucks paid for their catastrophic first half until the end and the “Big Three” has its share of responsibility in this failure, between the 4/13 shooting from the “Greek Freak”, the 0/6 from Khris Middleton or Lillard’s 3/11 after 24 minutes of play. If the final score does not represent the difference in level between the two teams, it is largely thanks to Brook Lopez on the one hand, and also to Damian Lillard who multiplied the exploits at the end to make the premises tremble until the end, notably dominating a particularly discreet Jrue Holiday for his reunion with his former team. This return at the very end of the match seemed like a nod to his new album, “Life Lately”, which was released yesterday. Unfortunately for him, he faltered at the worst moment, when he could have brought his team to -2 with this dunk that he completely missed…
– Giannis Antetokounmpo’s nightmare. The duel between Boston and Milwaukee was particularly expected to assess the ability of the Celtics, and their rookie Kristaps Porzingis in particular, to hold off the “Greek Freak”. The meeting allowed us to learn some lessons, with already confirmation that the Horford-Porzingis pair remains rather complementary, and also that the Latvian did not have to be ashamed of his defense on the Bucks superstar. It must be said that Giannis Antetokounmpo undoubtedly delivered his worst match of the season, with a catastrophic start and a lack of rhythm which haunted him throughout the match. He finished at 7/20 in shooting, still with the same feeling of suffering on his three attempts behind the arc, although they were open, one of which ended with an ugly “airball”. He was also penalized for a ball carry in the third quarter which earned him a return to the bench and a heated argument with Adrian Griffin. A match to forget for him…
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.
