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MILWAUKEE – For the first five games of the playoffs, the Boston Celtics looked like the team they were supposed to be in regular season. Kyrie Irving showed how much he missed in the playoffs last season. Gordon Hayward looked as good as ever in the Celtics' uniform and the defense was in tune. They threw a four-game lead against the Indiana Pacers in the first round, then entered Milwaukee and made a statement with a 22-point win in the first game to steal a home advantage.
But all this good work failed during a catastrophic sequence in the third quarter of the second game on Tuesday night. After Jaylen Brown threw a 3-pointer from the left wing of the back panel to the other side of the rim, the Bucks came down to the other end and gave Pat Connaughton a lay -up, who started a 22-2 run to close the third. and, for all intents and purposes, end the game. With each team pretty much sending it at that time, the Bucks got a 123-102 win to tie the series at 1-1.
This stretch was a return to the tumultuous regular season of the Celtics, who had also experienced similar collapses. A bad defense resulted in a bad attack, and suddenly a manageable five point deficit turned into a 26-point hole that was far too deep to be eliminated in a quarter.
"I thought they had better places at both ends of the field," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "I thought our reaction to that was to sort out the attack and that led to a few outings, and then it just rolled us in. They were great tonight."
As Stevens noted, the Bucks were really excellent on Tuesday night. The Bucks needed an awesome response after being crushed at home in the first game. Giannis Antetokounmpo responded to one of his worst games of the season with 29 points and 10 rebounds, including 15 in the dominant third quarter of the Bucks. Khris Middleton was also great. He traveled seven out of ten downtown players en route to a 28-point night and set a playoff franchise record with 20 points. They trusted the system that had driven them to this point, and he delivered.
But if the Bucks deserve a lot of credit, the Celtics played a role in making it a lot easier for them than they were in Game 1. There were little things, such as spilling the ball more often and giving more offensive rebounds, but they also have too many failures both in attack and defense during this dangerous third quarter.
"I think that they just took control of the game and that they really managed to come out and have beautiful looks in transition," said Al Horford. "We did not do the necessary work to go back and be matched, they took over."
In the first game, the Celtics' defensive play plan was up to par. This was especially true in transition, where they could form a wall at the top of the key to prevent Giannis from going directly to the edge. But they were also successful because they scored enough to return to a game defense and not be afraid of being perfect in transition. These two aspects are interdependent and the collapse of the third quarter occurred because the Celtics have too often taken quick and misguided shots, which has multiplied the transition opportunities for the Bucks.
"We were not very good on both sides, but I think our offensive rules and some of the shots that we forced were inflicted in many ways," Stevens said. "I hope we will be better able to get better shots, to be able to define our defense so that we do not scramble all the time, and do a better job in the air and in our airspace."
Now the question for the Celtics becomes: how do they react? Collapses like this one in the third quarter have happened again and again in the regular season, which was bad enough. But the Celtics often let this kind of performance turn into big problems. Whether it was long team meetings, snap in the press or fainting weeks, the Celtics were struggling to recover from a bad night. It goes without saying, but there is no time for that in the playoffs.
They'd better be ready for match 3, or they could lose the field advantage they had stolen in Milwaukee, just like that. But to their credit, they said and did what was necessary after match 2. There was no meeting in camera, no sulking; the Celtics told the Bucks how they played, took responsibility and promised to be better on Friday night.
"That's what I signed up for," said Irving. "That's what Boston chose for me, to be able to go back, get back into the trenches and get ready for another fight on Friday, that's why you live." Basketball is fun when it comes to that. and you have to react, that's the type of basketball you want to play. "
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