Celtics shrug off slow start for road win over Bucks: ‘We won’t just give in’
MILWAUKEE — While walking toward the Celtics' basket on the other side of the court, Jaylen Brown reached out to slap Giannis Antetokounmpo 's hand early in the second quarter Sunday afternoon. After taking a charge on Antetokounmpo by absorbing an elbow to the face, Brown believed the two-time MVP was extending a peace offering to him.
Not at all. Like an uncle trying to get a rise out of his nephew or niece, Antetokunmpo pulled back his own hand at the last second, leaving Brown with nothing but air to high-five. Since the Celtics All-Star didn't give much of a reaction on the court, it was unclear at the time whether he found the antics amusing or irritating. Either way, Brown suggested afterward that he wasn't going to let Antetokounmpo's stunt throw him off.
" Giannis is a child ," Brown said. "I'm just focused on helping my team get a win. And that's what we did tonight."
The Celtics earned a 113-107 road win by shrugging off another slow start, one of their worst offensive performances this season and everything Antetokounmpo tried against them. He scored 43 points, the most he has ever tallied against Boston in the regular season, but still couldn't stop Milwaukee from dropping to 2-8.
Though the Celtics fell behind by 17 points early in the second quarter, Joe Mazzulla liked the way his team carried itself throughout the game.
"In situations like that, when it's not going our way for whatever reason, I'm always studying the body language and the poise of our team," Mazzulla said. "And I just felt tonight they just kind of stayed right there. And we still competed even though things didn't go our way. As long as we maintain the proper body language and the poise and we're kind of connected, then you just have to withstand it. I mean, it's the NBA , that's just kind of how it is. So I really liked their body language, I liked their poise, I liked how they stayed connected. And when I see that, I'm like, OK, we've got a shot."
That poise was tested early. For the second straight game, the Celtics opened the first quarter by surrendering a 16-2 run. They often limit Antetokounmpo's efficiency as well as any team, but he scored 19 first-quarter points. Several of his early buckets were at the rim, including a soaring alley-oop from Damian Lillard . On top of some of the easy ones for Antetokounmpo, the Celtics were the victims of some tough shot luck during the stretch. Antetokounmpo hit his first 3-pointer of the season. Taurean Prince drilled a tightly contested triple over Jayson Tatum . Mazzulla indicated the Bucks scored 14 points more than they were expected to score during the first half based on their shot quality. He thought some of Boston's early issues came down to shooting variance.
"If you look at the 16-2 start, 11 of those points were (unusual) things that are going to happen throughout the game that you want to happen spread out," Mazzulla said. "But they all happened back-to-back-to-back possessions."
Even while scoring just 115.3 points per 100 possessions, their third-lowest offensive efficiency of the season, the Celtics kept math on their side by winning the margins Mazzulla emphasizes frequently. They didn't shoot as well as Milwaukee from the field or from the 3-point arc but attempted more shots, more 3-pointers and more free throws than the Bucks. Boston grabbed more offensive rebounds (8-5) and committed fewer turnovers (13-12).
The Celtics didn't let the bad start break them.
"We won't just give in to anybody," Jrue Holiday said, "and say it was their night."
Like he has done several times already this season, Payton Pritchard changed the Celtics' energy during the first half. Soon after checking in midway through the first quarter, he drove baseline and found Sam Hauser open for a 3-pointer. While the rest of the Boston players struggled to find a rhythm during the first half, Pritchard kept them close with 17 first-half points, including five 3-pointers.
"Payton's been excellent this year," Brown said. "He's played as good as anybody out there. The way that he's been shooting the ball, the way that he's been shooting the ball for our team has been incredible. And his growth has been great to watch. So Payton has been making those steps. And he's a big-time player."
Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers treats Pritchard as such. Before losing to the Celtics on Oct. 28, Rivers said he circled Pritchard's name on the scouting report and told his players Pritchard is a game changer. Pritchard still scored 28 points off the Boston bench that night, including a back-breaking 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter. That shot bothered Rivers because he had informed his players how Pritchard likes to go to his right at the end of quarters. The Bucks paid the price when they failed to stop him from getting off a clean look.
They didn't make the same mistake again Sunday. On the final possession of the first quarter, the Bucks showed their respect for Pritchard. With just 2.7 seconds, many teams would have allowed the Celtics to take a long heave without much resistance. But Pritchard's reputation as one of the best end-of-clock shooters around the league preceded him. The Bucks, listening to the scouting report this time, sent two defenders at him to aggressively deter him from getting a clean look. Even from around midcourt, Milwaukee worried about Pritchard.
He missed the heave Sunday. Still, by averaging 16.5 points per game, Pritchard has earned the extra attention opponents send his way.
"He's been carrying us in high stretches of the game with both his ball pressure and his shooting," Mazzulla said. "So (his strong first half) kind of kept us around. And we obviously turned it up to another level in the second half, but we had some quality defensive possessions in the second quarter, which kind of kept us around. An 11-point game in the NBA is like nothing, so because of Payton and because of our second-quarter defense, I thought that gave us a chance to come out in the second half and compete at a high level."
The Celtics took control with a 12-0 run at the beginning of the third quarter. After muscling Lillard for a bucket on the opening play of the period, Tatum defended the Bucks guard perfectly on the ensuing possession and capitalized with a fast break bucket the other way. Moments later, Tatum found Brown for a layup to cut the Celtics' deficit to 69-64 and force a Milwaukee timeout. The break in action didn't stop the Boston surge. Holiday and Al Horford followed it with back-to-back 3-pointers to give their team its first lead of the afternoon.
Despite shooting just 40.7 percent from the field, the Celtics won with defense and a late-game push.
"Just staying poised," Brown said. "They came out and hit some tough baskets to start, a lot of 3s, but we weathered the storm and walked them down."
Brown, returning from a four-game absence, said his injured hip felt better but "not all the way there yet." With the issue, which he said has bothered him since training camp, he wanted to challenge himself while guarding Lillard. Brown said he wanted to be "in that zone" mentally "to do whatever it takes to win." Lillard finished with 14 points on 4-for-15 shooting.
"I try not to miss too many games," Brown said. "My presence out there for my team on both offense and defense is important. This was a big win on the road that we needed so I knew I wanted to make myself available today. And I knew it would be a challenge on both sides of the ball physically. And we took their best punch tonight. They came out, Giannis had an incredible game, their team shot the ball well and we still figured out how to win it. So I'm glad this was my return game."
(Photo of Jayson Tatum: Stacy Revere / )
