There’s only a short list of teams in the Eastern Conference that’ll give the Boston Celtics a run for their money this season and the New York Knicks and Milwaukee Bucks are at the top of it.
Boston has already played both the Knicks and the Bucks to start the season, winning by a combined margin of 34-points in those games against two teams specifically designed to take down the Celtics.
In the C’s first three games, they started off on a fast start. However, Milwaukee presented a different challenge as Boston started the game by missing shots for the first three minutes of the game.
Derrick White scored the first seven-points for Boston, followed by Jrue Holiday, Jayson Tatum, and Payton Pritchard making shots, as things started to click for the Celtics as the first quarter progressed.
Here are five takeaways from the game:
Payton Pritchard
Payton Pritchard scored 28 of the Celtics’ 30 bench points. He finished the game with 28-points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field and 8-of-12 from behind the arc. He also added five rebounds and three assists.
Pritchard’s eight 3-pointers off the bench tied a franchise record held by Eddie House and he was close to the franchise record for the most made 3-pointers in a game (11) held by Marcus Smart.
At the end of the third quarter, Pritchard took an inbound pass coast-to-coast and finished with a multi-crossover step-back from behind the arc that swished through the net. This shot brought Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers to his knees.
Al Horford defending Giannis Antetokunmpo
At 38-years-old, Al Horford is currently the seventh oldest player in the NBA and yet he’s the only player in the league that can defend Giannis Antetokunmpo with ease, or at least he makes it look easy.
Horford blocked Antetokunmpo multiple times in this game, once in the first quarter and again in the third quarter.
He also rolled on the court for a loose ball with Giannis in the middle of the third quarter in a crucial part of the game tied at 70-points each.
Horford finished the game with 10-points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and he was perfect from behind the arc (2-of-2). He also had five rebounds, one assist, and two blocks in 27-minutes.
Fouls & Free Throws
The officiating wasn’t great for either team, but it eventually got the better of Joe Mazzulla and Jayson Tatum, who both received technical fouls.
The free throw disparity was eye-popping as Milwaukee attempted 31 free throws to Boston’s 19. Damian Lillard made more free throws (17-of-18) than field goals (7-of-15) and Jayson Tatum only received two trips to the line.
Jaylen Brown received the whistle for Boston, going to the line 14 times (10-of-14).
Jordan Walsh
Jordan Walsh entered the game for the first time in the second quarter. He navigated the court well, switched crisply, and held his own against Brook Lopez and Giannis Antetokunmpo.
Walsh finished the game with two-points and three rebounds.
Strong Finish
The Celtics started to pull away from this game at the end of the third quarter when Payton Pritchard made a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter began with a score of 90-82 in Boston’s favor. Boston started the quarter on a seven-point run before Milwaukee finally scored a basket nearly three minutes into the quarter.
Pritchard hit two 3s in the fourth, Brown made three shots and got to the line a couple of times. Boston was able to put in the reserve players to end the game.
Next Game
The Celtics play again on Wednesday in Indiana, the start of a four-game road trip.
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Photo Credit:Brian Babineau, NBAE Getty Images
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