The Boston Celtics (3-2) have won their third consecutive game. Daniel Theis made his debut in the Starting Five at the 96:89 away win against Milwaukee Bucks (3-2). But the Celtics’ star duo ensured the victory.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens changed his starting five for the fourth time in the fifth game. This time the German Daniel Theis, who was allowed to take the lead for the first time from the very beginning, benefited from it, but Aron Baynes came from the bank.
After a first quarter with a high score (23:28) the defence became more and more important, the tempo was slowed down. This was better for the Bucks at first, so that a tight Milwaukee guide went into the cabin. After the change of sides a private duel developed between Al Horford and Giannis Antetokounmpo, who took over responsibility in their team and led the offenses.
In the fourth quarter, the Celtics then went down to 11 points, but the hosts’ quick threesomes ensured that the crunchtime was thrilling. In this one, the bucks allowed themselves too many simple mistakes, while Kyrie Irving demonstrated his one-on-one skills and scored the decisive points.
Theis remained without a point, but only took a throw in 19 minutes. He got 5 rebounds and blocked a throw. The duo Al Horford/Irving scored a large part of the points: The center benefited several times from strong point guards, scoring 27 points (4/5 3FG) and 9 rebounds. Uncle Drew himself played 24 counters and 7 assists.
As usual Giannis Antetokounmpo was the top scorer of the Bucks with 28 points, but especially in the last quarter the Celtics had him under control. Khris Middleton and Malcolm Brogdon each contributed 15 points.
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Al Horford. At the beginning of the affair, Celtics sought him again and again in the post office, where he successfully sought high-percentage deals – also against Giannis. Especially in the third quarter he showed his skills as a marksman and scored 3/4 threesomes. In this critical period, he kept his colors almost alone in the game. He also worked hard on the board and was a solid anchor in the defense.
Mirza Teletovic. Actually, this could be the whole bucks bank. Except for a few exceptions from Greg Monroe (8 points), she didn’t manage to keep the offense alive when Giannis needed breaks. Teletovic scored only one of his 5 throws in 17 minutes and lost 2 times. All in all, the second unit of the Bucks lost the duel against the second guard of Celtics with 17:24 – exactly the difference in points that was on the scoreboard at the end.
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Although Giannis also hit throws from the middle distance during the first three quarters, Stevens’ announcement to drop far below the Greek was still valid. In addition, he varied the defenders he set on the Greek side: in the fourth quarter, it was rare for the same opponent to appear in front of the number 34 Milwaukees in two consecutive possessions. This was a success: Giannis stayed out of the field in the last quarter with 2/6 goals (in 12 minutes).