The Boston Celtics found a way to survive Wednesday night, pulling out a 109-102 win against the Milwaukee Bucks, but seriously, this one was way more stressful than it needed to be. They rolled into halftime up 62-41, after holding the Bucks to a measly 14 points in the first quarter, and had led by as many as 22 points. Milwaukee was struggling at 1-6 coming into the game, and Boston was even playing without Jayson Tatum for the first time all season. Everything looked awesome, a comfortable win was in the bag, right? Nah. Tyler Herro caught fire, Boston’s offense went missing, and suddenly, the Bucks were leading in the fourth quarter. It was wild.
The “Comfortable Win” That Almost Vanished
Boston’s penchant for letting huge leads evaporate is getting to be a thing, and it is a dangerous one. Last Friday against Chicago, they were up by 32 points before settling for a 14-point win. This Wednesday, leading by 21 at halftime and a peak of 22 against a struggling Bucks squad, it truly looked like a stress-free evening was on the cards. By the middle of the fourth quarter, the Celtics were losing. Yeah, you read that right. Losing.
Of course, circumstances played a part. Losing Jayson Tatum is no joke, and then Payton Pritchard left during the second half with an eye injury, leaving the Celtics without two key offensive weapons. Milwaukee also just absolutely lit it up in the third quarter, with Tyler Herro doing most of the damage. But let’s be real, the Celtics helped create their own mess. That third quarter saw Milwaukee drop 38 points on them after only managing 41 in the *entire* first half. The Celtics’ offense went completely stagnant, and turnovers gave the Bucks all the opportunities they needed to run. Suddenly, a team that looked totally outmatched was playing with all the confidence in the world. Head Coach Joe Mazzulla pointed directly to the offensive struggles as a major part of their defensive problems after the game, saying Boston simply wasn’t executing well enough to put consistent pressure on Milwaukee.
Digging Deep to Survive, But The Record Still Looms
Thankfully, Derrick White remembered how to score when it mattered most, and Paul George continued to be wonderful, making the kind of crucial plays that really stand out. The Celtics did enough to survive 109-102, improving their season record to 6-2. And to Joe Mazzulla’s credit, his teams have an impressive 139-5 record when leading by at least 20 points, which is a ridiculous 96.5 percent winning percentage. That’s a phenomenal number, no doubt.
But even with that incredible record, watching a 22-point lead turn into a fourth-quarter deficit against a 1-6 team is going to make you sweat. It shows a team that can lose focus, that can get stagnant, and that might need to iron out those “unproven lineup combinations” a bit quicker. They escaped this time, but they can’t keep giving up these kinds of leads and expect to always pull it out.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Celtics Blog.
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