Celtics rally from slow start to beat Bucks, 116-105

And to think, at halftime, that Jayson Tatum, Gordon Hayward and Kemba Walker were a combined 7-for-26, and that the Celtics were back in Game 5 of last year’s Eastern Conference finals, devoid of energy or a plan.

Nothing is going to salve last May’s disappointment, but an early season comeback win over Milwaukee after trailing by 19 points in the first half is a good place to start a sequel.

The Celtics climbed out of that first half hole for 116-105 win over the Bucks Wednesday, with Tatum (25 points, 4-for-7 3-point shooting), Hayward (21 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) and Walker (32 points, four treys, 14-for-15 free throw shooting) all rediscovering their offense down the stretch.

The Celtics pulled away in the fourth despite 22 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo and another 26 from Khris Middleton, and finished the night with 17 3-pointers.

Walker’s 3-pointer – his third of the night – was good for a 101-90 lead with 4:29 left, and when Brook Lopez hit two free throws, Walker teed up another deep shot, this time for a 12-point lead.

The Celtics guard scored the Celtics’ eighth straight point with a 15-foot pull-up, though a Smart technical foul contributed to the Bucks scoring the next three points behind an Antetokounmpo drive and a Middleton free throw.

Smart was also called for a loose ball foul on the Bucks star while scrapping for a free throw with 2:08 left. He got off the floor, arms held high, as the crowd roared.

Tatum then put the night to bed, first with a 3-pointer with 1:07 left, and then with an 18-footer for a 111-99 lead.

The Celtics, sluggish and cold throughout the first half, finally exorcised those problems with a pulverizing 26-7 run over the last 6:35 of the third quarter for an 80-76 lead. Walker scored seven of eight Celtics points, including five straight from the line, before Tatum finally shook his own cold snap.

After blocking Antetokounmpo, Tatum finished off the next possession from downtown, and 59 seconds later, with eight-tenths of a second on the clock, hit from deep again for a four-point halftime lead.

The Bucks, after shooting 41 percent from 3-point range (9-for-22) in the first half, had finally leveled off. And the Celtics, starting with a Smart 3-pointer and an offensive board tip that set up a Hayward pull-up, continued to execute with the ball.

And when Eric Bledsoe delighted the crowd by missing twice from the line, the Celtics parlayed that Hayward pull-up into an 8-0 run that included a lane-busting dunk off the break from Tatum for a 91-80 lead.

Khris Middleton took over from the Milwaukee side, scoring eight of the next 10 Milwaukee points, with the Celtics answering each possession, including big threes from Daniel Theis and Walker – the latter with 4:29 left for a 101-90lead.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2N0KSlB