On April 10, Beijing time, the NBA regular season ushered in a super game day, with a strong dialogue in the East, and the second-ranked Bucks sat at home to face the Celtics. Previously, the Celtics had a record of 62 wins and 16 losses, locking the first place in the East and the first place in the league early, while the Bucks, although ranked second in the East, had a record of only 47 wins and 31 losses, and the Celtics had a 15-game gap, which was placed in the West, which was about the distance between the first Timberwolves and the eleventh Rockets. In the past 4 games, the Bucks have lost to the Wizards, Grizzlies and Raptors, and they were easily handled by the Knicks. There's speculation that the Bucks don't want to face either the Heat or the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
But if the Bucks continue to lose, they may not even be able to keep the top four. And Rivers Sr. vowed that as long as the team made the playoffs, it would be able to turn things around. Since the Celtics entered April, they have begun to arrange the core rotation rest, but they really can't lose if they want to, including the initiative to release water in the game with the Kings, including the 35-point victory over the Thunder who lacked Alexander and Jayway, etc., They also became the first team in NBA history to have 4 players win the best of the week in a single season. Back to today's game, the Bucks are definitely unwilling to continue to lose, the old Rivers took the initiative to change the lineup, starting with: Lillard + Beverley + Middleton + Brother Alphabet + Da Lopez, taking down Beasley, who is not good at defense, and the Celtics rotated Hugh Boshen and Horford, starting with: White + Holiday + Jaylen Brown + Tatum + Dierman.
At the beginning of the game, Brother Alphabet received a pass from Middleton and took off and dunked, and Da Luo hit three three-pointers in a row, and the Bucks led the Celtics 13-5 early. Tatum and Holiday immediately fired from the outside, and threw it after halftime, unreasonable. After Beverley scored a rebound, Da Lopez and Middleton continued to rain three-pointers, Lillard continued to score three points + Brother Alphabet flew to dunk, and the Bucks instantly opened a 15-point difference. In the second half, Cornet and White also fired from the outside, and Portis and Lillard used three-pointers again to open up the gap at the end of the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the Bucks led the Celtics 37-21. At the beginning of the second quarter, Portis trained Tatum, Brother Alphabet broke through the throw, Portis exploded with one arm and split the dunk, and the Bucks opened up a maximum of 24 points.
But in the middle section, Dillman + White + Pritchard hit three three-pointers in a row, and in the second half, Holiday and Tatum blossomed inside and out, and the difference narrowed to about 15 points. Beverley's three-pointer stabilized the situation, and Kornet was strong at the end of the quarter, and the Bucks led the Celtics 63-43 at halftime. At the beginning of the second half, Beverley hit two more three-pointers, and the difference was 22 points, and Brown hit all kinds of iron, but Tatum responded with a three-pointer. In the second half, Tatum hit a difficult basket in the face of Da Luo, and White seized the open three-point opportunity, and the Celtics chased all the way to only 13 points. At the end of the quarter, Portis and AJ Green scored five points in a row, and Tatum's three-pointer and Brown's counterattack layup continued to eat away at the difference. At the end of the third quarter, the Bucks led the Celtics 78-67.
In the second half of the third quarter, Brother Alphabet suddenly fell to the ground holding his calf without confrontation, and then returned directly to the locker room, according to the reporter in front, Brother Alphabet's soleus muscle (the position where the lower side of the calf is connected to the Achilles tendon) appeared a strain (lift the five toes up, you can feel the soleus muscle moving), and withdrew from the game. In the fourth quarter of the final game, Portis and Middleton scored consecutive jumpers, and Middleton and AJ Green continued to score three points. After the Bucks opened up again, the Celtics surrendered in the middle of the game, and then went into garbage time for the next six minutes. In the end, the Bucks defeated the Celtics 104-91, ending a four-game losing streak and ending the Celtics' five-game winning streak.
Stats, on the Celtics side, Jaylen Brown had 14 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals, Tatum had 22 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists, Holiday had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists, White had 9 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals, and Dillman had 6 points. On the Bucks' side, Antetokounmpo had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists, Lillard had 12 points, 3 rebounds and 5 assists, Beverley had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists, Middleton had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists, and Portis had 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Throughout the game, the Celtics did not have the dominance of the league's No. 1, even if the result of the game would not have any effect, but there was no other tactic in the whole game except throwing three points, especially Jaylen Brown, the first half performance was a disaster, all kinds of mistakes and iron. The key Celtics are down the whole court, 0 free throws! This is the first time in NBA history that a team has made 0 free throws in a single game! Although the Bucks won, the calf strain of Brother Alphabet has become a hidden danger. At least Rivers Sr. has temporarily survived the dismissal crisis, but looking forward to the next playoffs, they may still meet the Heat or the 76ers, and this roster framework may not be competitive.