Celtics fall flat in Game 3 rout
MILWAUKEE — Amid non-stop chants of “Fear the Deer” and the renewed confidence of a Bucks team back on familiar hardwood, the Celtics offense crawled into a shell last night.
By the standards of a team known for its scoring droughts, last night’s 116-92 Game 3 loss to Milwaukee was as dry as sand. The Celtics now hold a 2-1 firstround series lead.
Terry Rozier, who has been something of a lightening rod in this series, collapsed, starting with a scoreless, five-turnover first half. He finished with nine points, nine assists and five turnovers. The latter number coined the Celtics’ night.
They returned to their careless ways from the second quarter of Game 1, except that that malady continued through the game last night with 16 turnovers for 14 Milwaukee points.
Al Horford’s 16 points led a malnourished group, with players like Marcus Morris (seven points, 2-for-8) and Greg Monroe (15 points, 4-for-12) low on the efficiency scale.
Milwaukee opened the fourth with an 85-67 lead, and received a bonus from backup center Thon Maker, who hit a pair of flat-footed 3-pointers, the latter for a 93-73 lead with 9:22 left.
But the shot merely unrolled the red carpet for Khris Middleton, who scored the next eight Milwaukee points on three jumpers, two of them from downtown, and the latter for a 101-76 lead.
The Celtics had yet to clear the 40 percent shooting mark, though they were close at 39.7 shooting. From there they crawled into garbage time.
The Celtics’ collective numbers at halftime were crushing — 12-for-39 shooting (30.8 percent), which was a significant improvement over where this team was after one quarter.
They turned the ball over 14 times for eight Milwaukee points, and that conversion rate could have been far more damaging.
Special mention went out to Rozier, who had more turnovers (five) than his assists (four) and points (none) combined.
Little wonder the Celtics trailed at the half, 58-35, with nowhere to go but up in every offensive category.
Rozier finally scored his first points with 8:05 left in the third by hitting two of three free throws. This cut the Bucks lead to 65-44. The climb still seemed eternal.
Tatum then led two charges, first by scoring the last five points of a 7-0 Celtics run that cut the Bucks lead to 67-53, and again with a 3-pointer that cut the margin to 13 (75-62).
But Middleton came back with five straight points, including a baseline three over Jaylen Brown, and the Bucks, relatively unscathed, finished the third with an 85-67 lead.