The Bucks made it a game Saturday night in Milwaukee. They deserve credit for that.
But when the game hung in the balance, it was the Celtics, and in particular Jae Crowder, who made the necessary plays to grab a win.
Just don’t get too excited about the description of what Crowder did to win the game for the C’s.
Boston’s starting small forward scored the final four points of the game from the free-throw line to break a 108-108 tie with 28.8 seconds left. He calmly drained all four freebies, with only one grazing the rim.
The first two free throws came after an offensive rebound by Amir Johnson with 32.9 seconds left in the game. He corralled the ball and quickly got the ball to Crowder, who was then fouled as be drove to the middle of the paint and attempted a fadeaway jumper.
The final two free throws were a bit less eventful. Marcus Smart and Johnson forced Giannis Antetokounmpo into a missed jumper in the paint with 12.9 seconds left and Crowder hauled in the rebound. He was fouled shortly thereafter and then straddled the charity stripe with 10.2 seconds later to seal the game.
Anticlimactic, yes, but those were game-winning points nonetheless. Crowder smiles and told Celtics.com that it “felt good” to win the game for his C’s in the city where he played his college ball at Marquette.
Milwaukee battled all the way back from 16 points down to force overtime. Those five extra minutes, however, belonged to Boston.
Isaiah Thomas kinda loves playing on the second night of back-to-backs. At least that’s what his numbers say.
Thomas entered Saturday’s action having averaged 39.5 points per game during his last six games on the second night of a back-to-back. His average in that department dropped Saturday night, but not by much.
Boston’s lone All-Star dropped 37 on the Bucks while hitting 11 of his 21 shot attempts. Thomas shot 6-for-11 from long range and nailed all nine of his free throws.
Let’s also not forget that Thomas also pitched in a game-high eight assists on the night while committing only three turnovers.
And let’s also not forget that on the second night of a back-to-back, and while playing for the fourth time in five nights, Thomas recorded a team-high 40 minutes and 39 seconds of playing time.
Jaylen Brown on the Celtics pulling out a win under difficult circumstances.
