Milwaukee improved their chances to reach the playoffs and gave Boston a tough pill to swallow in their quest to win the Eastern Conference. The Bucks are still tied with Atlanta for the fifth seed and they're currently six games behind the fourth spot. Considering how many games are remaining for both teams (7), it seems next to impossible to reach that plateau. At the other end, the Celtics are now tied up with the Cavaliers for first place. but remain two games ahead of third place was Washington also lost on Wednesday night.
Bucks continue to roll with victories
While Milwaukee hasn't put together a long streak, they have won 13 of their last 16 games. More amazingly was nine of those contests came away from home. As always, small forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (23.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg) led the show with a team-high 22 points and grabbed 9 boards. Shooting guard Khris Middleton (15 ppg, 3.9 rpg) stuffed the box score with 19 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists.
Other shooting guard Malcolm Brogdon (10.3 ppg, 4.3 apg) has also been on a roll lately for the Bucks. He's averaging 14 points in the last five games and he's recorded a positive passing ratio of 19 assists to just one turnover in the last two games.
Celtics struggle on offense
Boston nearly bailed themselves out with a tough shooting night. They hit just 39.8 percent from the field compared to their opponent hitting 52.6 percent. The Celtics hit four more 3-pointers and had a +5 advantage in free throw makes, but it simply wasn't enough to keep them from losing their second straight contest.
Outside of Isaiah Thomas' 32 points, everybody else on the Celtics recorded 13 points or less. Small forward Jae Crowder (13.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg) went 4-for-12 from the field and missed all six 3-point attempts. Marcus Smart (10.6 ppg, 4.5 apg) did record a double-double off the bench with 11 points and 11 rebounds, but also went just 4-for-15 from the field.
Both teams will return home for their next game. The Celtics will be hosting Orlando while the Bucks will host Detroit.
