The Boston Celtics dropped their second consecutive game in the Eastern Conference semi-finals in Game 3 against the Milwaukee Bucks, and now face a 2-1 deficit. These are 3 takeaways from Game 3.
The Boston Celtics needed this one. After doing their job on the road by taking Game 1 from the Milwaukee Bucks and stealing home court advantage, the Cs needed to win Game 3 to set up a home-stand sweep and potential 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.
Instead, they found themselves short of answers for the probable league MVP, who was able to drive to the basket and draw foul calls at will.
The Celtics remained in striking distance throughout the game, and hung around in the third quarter despite a monstrous free throw advantage for Milwaukee.
Kyrie Irving played well in Game 3, netting 29 points in the contest. In fact, the Celtics’ starters all scored in double digits, including an efficient 20-point effort from Jayson Tatum, who had been on a milk carton in the series thus far.
The Celtics bench was a different story, as only Semi Ojeleye and Gordon Hayward found the points column from the Boston bench. Terry Rozier was also non-productive in his 14 minutes with zero points on 0-for-3 shooting.
The Bucks, on the other hand, saw massive production from their bench unit, as George Hill and Pat Connaughton combined 35 points while shooting a combined 14-of-23 from the field.
The Celtics will need a more complete performance going forward should they hope to get back into the series.
These are three takeaways from the Celtics’ Game 3 loss.