Joe Mazzulla processed the primary half, noticed the halftime rating and made a uncommon resolution.
The Celtics coach waved the white flag.
With the Celtics trailing by 37 at halftime, Mazzulla pulled his starters. He gave them the remainder of the night time off. Instead, he began an all-bench lineup of Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, Lamar Stevens, Svi Mykhailiuk and Luke Kornet. That unit and the remainder of the bench performed the remainder of the night time within the Celtics 135-102 blowout loss to the Bucks in Milwaukee.
This sport ought to have been a marquee showcase between the East’s prime two groups. Instead, except for the result counting towards their race for the No. 1 seed, there received’t be a lot to glean from Thursday night time.
It doesn’t completely excuse the hassle, however the Celtics weren’t given any favors by the schedule-makers. The Celtics traveled to Milwaukee exhausted on the second night time of a back-to-back, an evening after they put in most effort to beat the West-leading Timberwolves in an extra time thriller. Four Celtics gamers – Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday – performed not less than 40 minutes. Thursday marked their fifth sport in seven nights.
Meanwhile, the Bucks hadn’t performed since Monday. They had been ready at dwelling for the Celtics and well-rested for his or her alternative to precise revenge from their first assembly in Boston again in November.
So a lot for a nationally-televised, marquee matchup. TNT was seemingly not too happy with what unfolded.
The sport was mainly over by early within the second quarter. The Celtics’ fatigue was obvious offensively with a 6-for-20 begin from the sphere. It appeared to have an effect on their protection. Still, they hung round within the first quarter. Two dunks from Oshae Brissett made it a 31-23 sport with 2:14 remaining within the opening interval.
But then it turned a laugher.
The Bucks erupted for a 10-0 run – which included eight factors from Bobby Portis – over the ultimate two minutes of the primary as they took an 18-point lead. The Celtics by no means recovered, as missed pictures piled up in weird trend. The Bucks prolonged their run to 25-0 with 15 consecutive factors to begin the second quarter as their lead ballooned to 33.
Portis, after hitting a step-back shot early within the second to power a Celtics timeout, was fired up. It appeared just like the Bucks had been making an attempt to ship a message. They had little regard for the Celtics’ circumstances, nor ought to they’ve.
Brown’s dunk with 7:38 remaining within the second stopped the Bucks’ run and snapped a Celtics scoring drought that lasted six minutes and 34 seconds. But the Bucks prolonged their result in 38 because the Celtics continued to battle mightily on each ends. The C’s went 1-for-16 from 3-point vary within the first half, and their 75-38 halftime deficit marked their second-largest in franchise historical past.
Source: www.bostonherald.com