The Boston Celtics lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in a dramatic Game 3 103-101 loss at Milwaukee’s Fiserv Forum. Despite trailing most of the game and not having the best outing from a few players, this was still a winnable game for Boston in multiple ways.

This became an offensive game quickly after the opening tip. Both teams have played rather great defense in this series but it’s going to come down to which team can make more shots. Well in Game 3 it was the Bucks.

It was a poor shooting night in all, but not from who you’d expect it to be.

Jayson Tatum didn’t have much to offer the Celtics in Game 3. He only scored 10 points and went 0-6 from behind the arc. Tatum looked a bit confused and unfocused, resulting in too many mistakes that cost Boston points.

“Today was just a one-off where I was thinking a little too much. Knowing they were going to give me a lot of attention, I passed up some open looks that I should’ve shot.“

It was the ninth time in Tatum’s playoff career that he didn’t land a 3-Pointer in the game.

“I mean, obviously I expect to play better. I gotta be better. I know that and my teammates know that and I’m sure I will be.”

Marcus Smart also had a poor shooting night, only able to log nine points on 1-8 from the floor and two assists. He was able to land one 3-Pointer and six free-throws. It just wasn’t the best game from Smart, despite a controversial call at the end of the game.

Tatum and Smart aren’t the only two players who should be called out for the poor offensive effort from the Celtics. 

Both Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams had a tough day shooting the ball. Grant was 2-9 and missed five 3’s, while Pritchard only took three shots and missed all of them.

Even with poor shooting performances from more than a few players, the Celtics still only lost by two points- which is encouraging moving forward in this series if you’re a Celtics fan. 

If there’s one thing to takeaway from this game it should be this:

The fact there was a chance to win the game in the final seconds with Giannis Antetokounmpo scoring over 40 points and your best players not being a factor offensively is a HUGE plus for the Celtics- it shows that they’re able to win without Tatum’s offensive production. 

Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinal is on Monday at 7:30PM in Milwaukee.

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Photo Credit: Jim Davis, Boston Globe