Boston Celtics Begin Home Stand with Win Over Bucks

All five starters scored in double figures Thursday night as the Celtics fended off the visiting Bucks 112-107.

Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 27 points while forward Jae Crowder added 20 more en route to a five point Boston Celtics victory at TD Garden. The win over the Milwaukee Bucks begins a five game home stand for the Celtics, the longest of the season. With 24 games remaining on the schedule and only two games separating the third place Celtics from the seven seed, coach Brad Stevens and his team need to approach every game like a playoff game. An underachieving, yet talented Milwaukee Bucks team proved to be a challenge for the home team Celtics, but Stevens’ young squad was able to grind out a win at home.

The Celtics opened the game with a quick 9-2 run fueled by high energy defense, great ball movement and easy fast break points. It was clear that Celtics and head coach Brad Stevens looked to expose Milwaukee’s lack of team defense by swinging the ball around the perimeter and finding cutters in the paint. Stevens’ game plan stifled the Bucks defense and allowed the Celtics to continue their prolific scoring ways with a 35-point first quarter. The Boston front court duo of Amir Johnson and Jae Crowder led the early charge at TD Garden with their rebounding and ability to get to the basket for easy buckets. The Boston Celtics out-rebounded Milwaukee 14-6, while Crowder netted 14 points and Johnson arguably had his best quarter of the season. The veteran power forward exceeded his season averages in the opening stanza by posting nine points and seven rebounds.

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As the reserves began to see action in the second quarter, Milwaukee coach Jason Kidd hoped to see his team cut into the double digit deficit. Kidd has a new rotation, which sees Massachusetts native Michael Carter-Williams and outstanding center Greg Monroe play with the second unit, looking to increase his bench production. The Celtics had trouble containing Carter-Williams, who scored a team high 10 points in the second quarter, but seemed to do a better job corralling Monroe than in the last meeting between the Eastern Conference foes when he scored 29 and brought down 12 rebounds.

The first half ended with the Boston Celtics leading the Milwaukee Bucks by a score of 62-52, despite shooting 0-9 from three and committing 12 turnovers. The Celtics’ sloppy play in the first half was masked by an advantage in rebounds, assists, free throws and fast break points; another testament to the hard work and effort stressed by coach Brad Stevens.

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After a moderately entertaining first half, the third quarter featured two technical fouls, an air ball free throw and finally a made three point field goal from the hometown Celtics. Jae Crowder, who led all scorers in the first half, picked up one of the technical fouls. After being called for his fourth and fifth personal fouls early in the quarter, Crowder showed some immaturity as he said a few too many words to an official while heading toward the bench. After Crowder’s exit, the Boston offense got back to their scoring ways, playing through Eastern Conference All-Star Isaiah Thomas. Thomas piled up 12 points to go along with two assists in Crowder’s absence, as the Celtics extended their lead and went into the fourth quarter with a 15 point lead, their largest of the night.

Jason Kidd‘s young team could have folded under the pressure of a confident Celtics squad and a clamorous home crowd, but the 12th place Bucks continued to play hard. With 5:31 to go in the final quarter the Celtics lead had been chiseled to five in large part because of the assertiveness of Celtic-killer Greg Monroe. With the game in jeopardy, Brad Stevens inserted his two leading scorers, Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder into the game. After 3 straight untimely turnovers down the stretch, Thomas found Crowder in the corner with a beautiful no-look pass. Crowder confidently nailed his second three of the night and killed the comeback effort by the Bucks and clinched the 112-107 win.

Next: The End With Boston is Near for Amir Johnson

The Boston Celtics next game is a Saturday matinee at home against a surging Miami Heat team. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 pm EST.