USA TODAY International Edition
Bucks hand Celtics wake- up call in Game 1
It’s one thing to run through the dysfunctional Brooklyn Nets in a firstround sweep.
It’s quite another to play the defending NBA champions in the second round.
The Milwaukee Bucks gave the Boston Celtics a lesson and a wake- up call Sunday in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs Eastern Conference semifinals.
Milwaukee stopped Boston 101- 89, stealing home- court advantage in an impressive performance that gave notice.
Even without injured All- Star Khris Middleton, the Bucks remain a talented team capable of winning this series. There’s more to the Bucks than Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jrue Holiday.
And another level is required to win. Some of the Celtics have been in this situation but not always with these expectations as the favorites to win the series.
ABC’s Doris Burke summed it up best late in the fourth quarter: The Bucks were tougher physically and better defensively, both points that Celtics coach Ime Udoka conceded after the game.
“Their physicality more so than anything caught us off guard,” Udoka said.
Milwaukee forced Boston to play into its defensive strengths, resulting in too many 3- point attempts ( 50) and turnovers ( 18 leading to 27 Bucks points), not enough points in the paint ( 20) and a low shooting percentage ( 33.3%) for the Celtics.
“We’re trying to get the best shot,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum said. “You can say we should attack the basket more, and we probably should.
“But we got a lot of drive- and- kick 3s. You can get caught up in the numbers, but we got a lot of good shots.”
The Bucks increased their defensive pressure, often picking up the dribbler at halfcourt, and team defense held Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart to 43 points and 30.9% shooting.
It’s a conundrum. The Bucks allow the most 3- pointers per game in the league, they want the opponent to take 3s and are dedicated to protecting the paint. What may seem like the right play for the offense is also what the defense wants.
So the Celtics need to find better ways of mixing their 3s with touches in the paint.
Udoka’s mind had turned to Game 2 on Tuesday without forgetting what happened in the series opener.
“We can spread them out, space them and get downhill and the attack,” he said. “( Brook) Lopez and ( Bobby) Portis at times were up high enough where we could’ve penetrated on those guys. Settled for some tough 3- point shots.
“We’ve got to get downhill and get to the basket. Obviously, we can put our guys in different positions with some post- ups and some things where we’re not fighting as much from the perimeter. We’ll take a look at that and figure out what we want to do. Lack of paint points is alarming.
“We’ve got to figure that out.” For a first- time head coach in the NBA conference semifinals, there was nothing but calm from Udoka. He was instrumental in turning around Boston’s 18- 21 start, and him and his staff will work to fix this.
The silver lining for Boston: This happened in Game 1, early in the series, with plenty of time left to figure it out.