Milwaukee absolutely scrapped in the second half, clawing back with a massive 61-47 run against the Boston Celtics, but it wasn’t enough to secure their first road win of the year, ultimately falling 109-102. Tyler Herro led all Bucks scorers with 25 points, matching Boston’s Paul George, but the early hole was just too deep to overcome in Boston.
A First Half Nightmare, Minus Myles Turner
What even *was* that first quarter? The Bucks came out flat, scoring just five points in the first four minutes, and all of them were from Jaime Jaquez Jr. Three turnovers in that same span? Ouch. You’re watching, hoping they’ll settle in, that the shots will start to fall, but nope, that was a pipe dream. After Myles Turner hit a three to cut the lead to 12-8, Milwaukee went silent for almost six minutes while the Celtics dropped a soul-crushing 15-0 run. Nate Ament finally snapped that drought with a corner three, and Brayden Burries grabbed a couple of nice offensive boards, but seriously, that first quarter was one to forget. Down 28-14, the team looked totally out of sync, with zero identity.
The second quarter started a little better, Milwaukee basically going blow for blow and keeping the deficit at 14 for a bit. But once Boston’s starting lineup checked back in, the Celtics took over again, and the Bucks looked completely handcuffed. By halftime, Milwaukee coughed up 10 turnovers that Boston converted into 12 points, and honestly, it felt like it could have been worse. The transition game, usually one of their strengths this year, was completely dead, posting a brutal -7.4 points-per-possession. They also couldn’t get to the rim, taking just five shots there and converting only one. The only bright spot in that grim first half was Myles Turner, who was playing his heart out with nine points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Despite his efforts, Milwaukee staggered into the locker room down a staggering 62-41.
The Second Half Fight We Needed to See
Credit where credit is due: the second half was a completely different story. The pace picked up immediately, and Milwaukee blasted out of the gate with a 12-5 run that forced Boston to call a timeout. Jaquez Jr. was a huge part of that surge, storming out and dropping eight points in the first few minutes after the break. Herro then picked up the pace, leading the charge as the Bucks started hitting everything. At one point, they drained eight straight buckets from the field, including a sick Brayden Burries dunk that forced another Boston timeout with the deficit cut to single digits, 74-65.
They showed serious grit to outscore the Celtics 61-47 in that second half, a truly incredible effort to come back from being down 21. That kind of fight is exactly what you want to see, but that first half hole was just too deep. While the comeback was fantastic, the team needs to figure out how to start a game with that same intensity if they want to finally snag that first road win of the year. They showed heart, now they need to show consistency from the opening tip.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Brew Hoop.
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