The Boston Celtics had a chance to clinch the number one seed in the Eastern Conference standings with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night. And they did so. For the first time since the 2007-08 season the Celtics will enter the playoffs as the number one seeded team in the East. The Bucks entered this matchup with their playoff spot already clinched at number six, so they decided to rest their three starters. Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova and Giannis Antetokounmpo all rested. Milwaukee also played without their star forward Jabari Parker who is out due to knee injury.
Having said all that, the Celtics expected an easy win on Wednesday night at their TD Garden. But it wasn't all so smooth as the Celtics might have expected.
Close game in the first half
The Bucks opened up the game with a big first quarter. They scored 36 points in that period and stunned the home team with their great shooting. It was 36-25 for the away team after the first 12 minutes of play. Boston answered with a big scoring quarter of their own, and managed to take the lead before halftime. It was 57-56 for the Celtics after the first two quarters. Teams went back and fourth in the third quarter and Boston just couldn't pull away as early as they might've wanted. It was 88-87 for the Bucks midway in the fourth quarter, but then the Celtics went on a 25-2 run and sealed the deal in this one.
Final score was 112-94 for Brad Stevens' team that had six players finish the game with at least 10 points. Boston outrebounded Milwaukee 46-43 and had 31 team assists. The Bucks on the other hand finished the game with 17 turnovers and couldn't connect from the three-point line. They were 6-23 from behind the arc.
Gerald Green with 18 points off the bench
With Isaiah Thomas playing only 22 minutes in this game, it was Gerald Green who led the Celtics in scoring with 18 points. He came off the bench and scored 10 of his 18 points in that 25-2 fourth-quarter run that sealed the deal for Boston. Jae Crowder added 16 points and five rebounds while Al Horford chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds.
Boston will enter the playoffs as the number one team in the Eastern Conference and will face the Chicago Bulls in the first round.
For the shorthanded Bucks, Spencer Hawes led the way on Wednesday night with 15 points and five rebounds. Greg Monroe added 10 points and six rebounds. Milwaukee finished the season at sixth spot and will play against the Toronto Raptors in the first round. Their all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo finished the season as the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single season.
