March 31, 2023, Beijing time, today's NBA game, the Bucks, the first in the East (55-21), at home against the Celtics, the second in the East (52-24), this game is regarded by many as a preview of the Eastern Conference final, which is a good test for both sides. The Bucks are three wins ahead of the Celtics, and even if they lose, it will be difficult for the Celtics to overtake the rankings. For the Celtics, if this game is lost, the 76ers, third in the East (50-26), will have some hope of overtaking the Celtics, as the two teams have a head-to-head match.
The Bucks are back-to-back games, yesterday they beat the Pacers by 13 points on the road, this game Middleton did not play, Holiday and Alphabet Brother played, they both played hi, Holladay cut 51 points on 20 of 30 shooting, 8 boards and 8 assists, Alphabet brother cut 38 points, 17 boards and 12 assists on 14 of 18, these two were in such good shape yesterday, it is difficult to say whether the state of today's game can continue, after all, the physical strength is no longer sufficient.
The Celtics suffered a crushing upset in their last game, they lost to the Wizards by 19 points, this loss has the Celtics players holding the momentum to rebound strongly today, today against the league No. 1 Bucks with a 30-7 home record, can the Celtics do it?
The Bucks return to Middleton this game, starters: Holladay + Allen + Middleton + Alphabet Brother + Da Lo, Celtics starters: Smart + White + Brown + Tatum + Horford.
In the first quarter, Holladay scored three points, Brown responded with three points, Da Lo, Middleton scored, Smart and Horford responded with three points, Celtics 9-7, Alphabet brother scored consecutive points, Brown scored consecutive points in response, Celtics led by 1 point, Middleton, Da Lo scored, Brown scored consecutive points, Lowe made a layup, the Celtics led by 6 points, Carter three points, Brogdon, Tatum responded, the difference was 7 points, Middleton made a layup, Tatum responded with three points, and the Celtics led 34-26 in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Lowe dunked, Alphabet Brother hooked in response, Tatum three points, Middleton responded with 2 free throws, Celtics led by 9 points, Tatum, Horford, Smart, Brown played 13-0, the difference widened to 22 points, Portis scored, Lowe, Brogdon responded, the difference was 24 points, Alphabet brother, Portis scored, Horford, Brogdon scored consecutive points in response, the difference widened to 30 points, Alphabet brother scored consecutive points, Tatum scored consecutive points in response, the difference was still 30 points, Alphabet brother layup, At halftime, the Celtics led by 28 points 75-47. The Celtics outscored the Bucks by 20 points in the second quarter.
The Celtics made 12 of 23 three-pointers in the half, the Bucks made 3 of 22 three-pointers, and the Celtics scored 10 more three-pointers, which is the reason why the Celtics led at halftime. Tatum had 22 points and five boards on 6-of-12 shooting (4-of-6 three-pointers) in the half, Brown had 20 points, three boards and three assists on 8-of-12 shooting (3-of-4 three-pointers), Horford had 12 points, two boards and three assists on 4-of-6 shooting (4-of-5 three-pointers), and Brogdon had 10 points, two boards and four assists.
The Bucks had 20 points and 5 boards on 9-of-20 shooting, Middleton had 11 points and 5 boards on 4-of-11 shooting, Holidayy had 3 points, 4 boards and 3 assists on 1-of-7 shooting, and Da Lo had 6 points and 5 boards.
In the third quarter, Horford and Smart scored, Alphabet Brother and Middleton chased points, the difference was 29 points, Tatum scored 5 consecutive points, the difference came to 34 points, Allen, Holladay, Da Lo scored, Brown, Tatum scored consecutive points in response, the difference expanded to 41 points, Portis three points, Tatum hit 2 consecutive three-pointers to respond, the difference was 44 points, Portis, Matthews scored, Brown, Tatum, Brogdon responded, the difference was 43 points, Connaughton three points, the third quarter Celtics led 114-74. Tatum scored 18 points in the third quarter, 40 points and 8 boards in the third quarter, and Brown had 30 points, 5 boards and 5 assists.
In the fourth quarter of the game, because the point difference was too large, the core players of both sides no longer played, Matthews layup, Hauser three-pointer, Lowe, White free throw, the difference of 44 points, Carter three-pointer, White hit a three-pointer, Cornet dunked, the difference was 49 points, Connaughton, Dragic hit three points, Gwe, Griffin, Cornet joined forces to respond, the difference was 44 points, the game was more than 1 minute left, the Celtics paused, Carter, Dragic, Connaughton scored after the timeout came back, Griffin, Gwey responded, the game is over, The Celtics beat the Bucks 140-99.
Tatum scored 40 points, 8 boards and 1 assist on 12-of-18 shooting (8-of-10 three-pointers), Brown had 30 points, 5 boards and 5 assists on 13-of-20 shooting (3-of-5 from three-point range), Horford had 14 points, 4 boards and 3 assists on 5-of-8 shooting, Brogdon had 14 points, 3 boards, 5 assists and 4 steals, Smart had 10 points, 4 boards and 8 assists, and White had 8 points and 5 boards.
The Bucks' five starting performances were not satisfactory, Alphabet Brother 24 points and 7 boards and 2 assists on 11-of-27 shooting, Middleton had 13 points, 5 boards and 4 assists on 5-of-13 shooting, Holladay had 6 points, 6 boards and 5 assists on 2-of-8 shooting, Da Luo had 8 points and 5 boards on 3-of-6 shooting, and Allen had 3 points and 1 board on 1-of-4 shooting. The Bucks finished poorly with 54 points and 24 boards in their five starters. Portis scored 12 points and 10 boards off the bench.
Although the Bucks are still the first in the league after the loss, the Celtics have outperformed the Bucks in the face of strong teams this season, and the Celtics are 30-14 against opponents with a winning percentage of more than 50% this season, surpassing the Bucks' 30-15 and ranking first in the league. In addition, the Celtics have been strong against top teams this season, 3-0 against the 76ers, 2-1 against the Bucks, and 1-1 against the Nuggets, making it the league's strongest performance against top teams.
The Bucks have five regular-season games to play, which are: home vs. 76ers, away vs Wizards, home vs Bulls, home vs Grizzlies, and vs Raptors, and the schedule is still difficult.
The Celtics have five regular-season games to play: home vs Jazz, away vs 76ers, home vs Raptors, home vs Raptors, home vs Hawks, home vs Hawks. The schedule is not bad, the Celtics have beaten the 76ers three times this season, can they sweep the 76ers this season?