Huge Fourth Quarter Lifts Celtics to Even the Series
May 9, 2022
With the Celtics season on the line, the team rose to the occasion and played some of their best basketball of the season. Boston played a largely frustrating game for three quarters in Milwaukee on Monday night, and it seemed like nothing was going their way. But the Celtics were able to turn it on and rally for a 43 point quarter to steal a 116-108 win over the Bucks and level the Eastern Conference semifinal series at 2-2. The 43 points were the most by any team in a quarter this postseason, and the second most in a quarter by the Celtics in the postseason all time. The offense finally seemed to solve the Bucks defense, and not a moment too soon.
For much of the night this game looked a lot like game three; the Celtics were not moving the ball particularly well and not making nearly enough open shots while Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated on the other end. They struggled out of the gates yet again, digging an early hole with lackluster offense and finding themselves down 25-18 after one. Boston was able to rally with a better second quarter to trail just 48-47 at halftime, with turnovers and offensive rebounds preventing them from gaining any real momentum. But in the third quarter, they lost the plot for a second straight game. The Celtics could not stop fouling, sending the Bucks to the line for 14 free throws in the quarter to just three for the Celtics. This left multiple Celtics in foul trouble, while they still couldn’t find a rhythm offensively. The Bucks had pushed the lead up to 10 before Derrick White hit a massive three to cut the deficit to 80-73 entering the fourth quarter.
It felt like the Celtics completely unraveled, yet they were only down 7 points with 12 minutes to go. That’s when everything shifted and they came up with a fourth quarter performance for the ages. When the chips were down and their backs were against the wall, the Celtics came alive, hitting 16/19 shots in the quarter (4/5 from three) and 7/7 from the free throw line. Al Horford was absolutely spectacular for the second straight game, putting up a playoff career high 30 points on 11/14 shooting and 5/7 from beyond the arc, including 16 in the fourth. In the third quarter, Giannis threw down a dunk on Al and mean mugged him, resulting in a taunting technical. Horford seemed to be motivated by the gesture and would get his revenge…and then some. As the Celtics burst out to start the fourth quarter, Al capped a 10-0 run with a poster-dunk on Giannis as he was fouled across the face. Horford let out several screams of emotion that you rarely see from the seasoned veteran. That energy vaulted Horford to one of the best and most important quarter’s of his career, and one that will go down in Celtics lore if they are able to win the series.
After another pedestrian start, Jayson Tatum rose to the occasion, stepping up with 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, asserting his will and closing out the game for Boston. Tatum finished with 30 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists on 11/24 shooting and came up with one big bucket after another when the team needed it. The Celtics finally found a way to attack the mismatches down the stretch and Tatum was able to make mincemeat out of George Hill especially. Tatum turned it up to another gear, driving with force, finishing through contact, drawing fouls, and finally burying a dagger three. It was a statement performance down the stretch by one of the league’s brightest stars.
The Celtics also got huge contributions from their guards, especially Marcus Smart and Derrick White. Jaylen Brown was hampered with foul trouble all night and was held to 18 points in just 32 minutes. He was clearly frustrated with himself and with some of the calls, but was able to make some big plays down the stretch. Smart was excellent on defense as always, and Ime Udoka went small for most of the fourth quarter, with Derrick White playing in place of Grant Williams, who came back down to earth a bit in this one. This left Smart and Tatum to defend Giannis for most of the quarter and they did an outstanding job. Smart also left his mark on offense with 18 points on 8/13 shooting plus 8 assists. He had two monstrous baskets down the stretch to close this one out as he bullied Jrue Holiday to the basket for a tough finish on one possession, then similarly abused Grayson Allen on the next one. Derrick White was called on for 34 minutes and rose to the occasion with 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists on 4/6 shooting to go along with great defense, notably limiting the Bucks to 0-12 shooting as the primary defender.
Boston seemed to find something down the stretch with their smaller lineup. They found out shortly before the game that Robert Williams III would be sidelined with soreness in his knee (Udoka said he is expected back for game 5), but the team had actually played better with Grant Williams on the floor. His shooting and floor spacing had opened things up for the Boston offense and his defense on Giannis was invaluable. But Grant struggled with his shot and dealt with foul trouble, which led to the super small lineup for Boston, as Theis was not having much of an impact on the offensive end. This wrinkle opened up the floor for the Celtics as they were able to create mismatches while spreading the Bucks out and it led to the best offense we have seen all series. It will be interesting to see how much Udokda goes back to this lineup if the team is back to full strength in game five.
For the Bucks, it was more of the same. They relied on their two stars who combined for 54 shot attempts after 60 in game three. Giannis was Giannis. He made a lot of amazing plays and at times seems to be able to do anything he wants on the court. But ultimately the Celtics have to be happy with how well they contained him and how hard they continue to make him work. They “held” him to 34 points, 18 rebounds, and 5 assists on only 14/32 shooting. But again, the Celtics were pretty much able to shut down everyone else, including smothering Holiday to the tune of 16 points on 5/22 from the floor. These two guys are carrying a ridiculous two way burden for this team and as things go on with this level of physicality, it’s fair to wonder if they are starting to wear down just a little. They both appeared to be exhausted at times down the stretch.
That will be just one of many keys to watch as we prepare for the biggest game of the NBA season, game 5 in TD Garden on Wednesday night. The winner of game 5 in a 2-2 series in NBA postseason history has gone on to win the series over 84% of the time. This has been an awesome series and may well be shaping up as an all time classic. The Celtics have fallen behind twice and still haven’t played their best for much of this series. But they were able to gut out a road win, regain home court advantage, and turn this into a best of three series with two of those games in Boston. It hasn’t been pretty, but we’ll take it.
Ben Handler