Matt Vautour: Celtics knock out Bucks with statement victory

BOSTON — Due to the Celtics’ failure to shut out Recreation 5, the margin/clock mixture of what constitutes a secure or comfy lead isn’t as apparent because it was.

However with 5:24 left within the fourth quarter and Boston up by 19, Marcus Good missed a 3-pointer from the precise nook. Payton Pritchard, the smallest man on the ground, swooped in and snatched the offensive rebound away from Pat Connaughton and fired it again to Good. From the identical spot, Good tried once more and made the three this time.

On the bench, Ime Udoka instructed his group to maintain going and that the sport wasn’t over. He didn’t need to. It in all probability was out of attain, however they weren’t letting up. The Celtics attacked the tip of Recreation 7 like there was a money prize for successful by 20 or extra. There was no hesitation, no scared clock administration.

Even when the primary “Beat the Warmth” chants began reverberating from across the Backyard, the Celtics gamers didn’t appear to note. They weren’t finished beating down the Bucks but.

On this night time there was no regretting {that a} tip-in was late or that Marcus Good didn’t shoot free throws after a controversial name. The clock and the officers had been irrelevant.

Boston stored enjoying protection and stored attacking till Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer waved the white flag and despatched in his reserves with 2:03 remaining. Udoka did the identical giving the Backyard crowd time to salute his group and rejoice earlier than heading out into their Sunday night.

When it ended, Recreation 5 felt like a crushing loss, one of many Celtics’ worst in latest reminiscence. The Bucks appeared like a group that knew the way to win a championship and Boston appeared like a group incapable of capitalizing on an opportunity to get rid of the champs. They had been tentative down the stretch and executed poorly.

4 days later and the Recreation 5 failure looks like a present, the prologue scene that units up the thrilling end in each sports activities film. The Celtics not solely discovered one thing, however the loss sparked one thing within them.

“Guys had been extra pissed off about it than down and defeated,” Udoka stated. “I don’t suppose our guys ever actually obtained down. We had been motivated by what we let get away.”

With the advantage of hindsight and two wins since Recreation 5, even Udoka stated there was worth in dropping the way in which they did in Recreation 5

“I feel you possibly can take some worth within the reminder,” Udoka stated. “We misplaced our justifiable share of these early within the season.”

Jaylen Brown merely wasn’t able to cease.

“We didn’t need to be over,” Brown stated. “We didn’t overcome all of the stuff we did earlier within the season for this to be it. We felt like these had been video games that we should always have received. We in all probability gave them two video games. … We needed to come back out and depart all of it on the market, and I feel that’s what we did.”

The Celtics struggled in Recreation 1 towards the Bucks, partially as a result of the Nets, who weren’t good at or taken with enjoying protection or being bodily, had been poor preparation. Beating Milwaukee needs to be good preparation for Miami and maybe past. Udoka like what it did for his or her mindset.

“A tough-fought seven-game collection will solely profit us with our perception in ourselves.”