Celtics erupt for 22 3-pointers in 122-114 win over Milwaukee

Brad Stevens said there’s a lot on Rob Williams, who made his first start of the season in the wake of Danel Theis’ trade to Cleveland.

Not so coincidentally, the Celtics fed off their young center with a ramped-up defensive effort across the board against one of the elite teams in the East. And by the end of the Celtics’ 122-114 win over Milwaukee on Friday night, Williams had cashed in not only with seven points, five blocks, six assists, nine rebounds and two steals — he changed the game almost from the start with his defensive presence.

Jayson Tatum led the way with 34 points, but on a night when the Celtics shot 22-for-47 from downtown, Marcus Smart (23 points, seven 3-pointers), Kemba Walker (21) and Jaylen Brown (18) were all beneficiaries of a hot offensive night bolstered by some of their best defense of the season.

Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 16 points, but never really found a flow.

The Celtics, shooting 18-for-36 from downtown, including six bombs from Smart and four each from Tatum and Brown, rounded into the fourth quarter with a 103-89 lead.

Tatum, now with 32 points, opened the fourth with a step-back 20-footer, and the next time down Payton Pritchard buried the Celtics’ 19th 3-pointer.

Mo Wagner, making his first appearance as a Celtic, buried a corner 3 for a 115-97 lead with 7:35 left.

The Celtics continued to swarm to the ball, the Bucks started to force shots, and by the time Smart buried his seventh 3, they led by 22 points.

The Celtics came out of the first half with a 60-55 halftime lead and 15 points apiece from Tatum and Walker. Williams, who didn’t score and attempted only two shots, didn’t need offense, dominating through a four-block, six-rebound, five-assist, two-steal half, with the assist total a career high.

Down the other end, Antetokounmpo, this time with four points, was off to his second straight slow start against the Celtics.

Tatum buried a pair of 3-pointers early in the third, the second bomb for a brief eight-point lead. Williams converted a three-point play off a put-back, Tatum came back with a 20-footer, and now the Celtics led by 11 points.

By the time Smart and Brown, the latter pulling up, hit back-to-back 3-pointers, the lead had grown to 16 (80-64).

Walker would soon produce a six-point swing, first with a 3-pointer and then, courtesy of a Pat Connaughton hack, three free throws for a 93-77 lead with 4:32 left in the third.

Antetokounmpo, oddly out of sync in the first half, started to assert himself offensively, but the Celtics continued to respond, including Smart’s fifth 3 of the night and a Tatum bomb for a 98-81 lead.

Smart’s sixth wasn’t far behind, this time for a 20-point Celtics’ lead that would dwindle to 14 points (103-89) by the end of the third.

The Celtics jumped out to an early eight-point lead, with Williams making a number of quick plays out of the high post, including a bounce pass assist on a Walker back cut.

Tacko Fall made the earliest appearance of his career subbing in for Williams, and though the Bucks narrowed the gap, the Celtics were playing well with their two young centers.

Overall, though, ramped-up defense across the board was responsible for the 32-26 lead the Celtics carried into the second quarter, with the help of 5-for-13 3-point shooting.

Tatum was 5-for-7 from the floor by the time he went in with a lefty drive for a 36-33 lead, and when he stepped left for a 3-pointer, the Celtics led, 41-33, with 8:47 left in the half.

Tatum now had 15 points in his first 13 minutes, and was off to his best start in weeks.

Walker scored his 15th point off a steal and drive for a five-point lead, and the Celtics protected that margin until Khris Middleton’s pull-up 3 cut their lead to 55-52.

Williams’ block on Connaughton set up a Brown drive for a 60-55 Celtics’ lead that would hold up at the half.

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