| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
|
 GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- The Milwaukee Bucks have an explosive offense but
it was their second-half defense which helped them overcome a
21-point deficit to defeat the Celtics 114-112 on Friday night.
|  | | Adrian Griffin drives around Tim Thomas, looking for two of his 10 points. |
"We know we'll be able to score points. We're just trying to
add a defensive mentality. If we do, I think we'll be one of the
teams in the mix at the end," said Bucks forward Danny Manning,
who scored 15 points.
Ray Allen, who finished with 18 points, hit a go ahead jumper
with 44 seconds left and hit one free throw for the final margin as
the Bucks ended a four-game road losing streak.
Sam Cassell scored a team-high 28 points and added 12 assists,
while Glenn Robinson contributed 21 points.
The Bucks allowed the Celtics a season-high 92 points through
three quarters, but outscored Boston 35-20 in the final quarter.
"We just wanted to get back in this game. Once we did, we
thought we could win it," said Bucks forward Tim Thomas, who
scored 17 points and made all six of his shots from the field. "We
did all the little things in the fourth quarter to win this game,"
After Vitaly Potapenko gave the Celtics a 108-103 lead with 3:20
left, the Bucks used an 8-2 run to take a 111-110 lead on Allen's
jumper.
Thomas made two free throws to extend the lead to three before
Kenny Anderson scored to pull the Celtics within one.
"This is a huge win for us. It's a very challenging coaching
job," said Bucks coach George Karl. "I've never had a team with
so many holes defensively, but we have an explosive offense that
makes up for it."
Antoine Walker had 27 points to lead the Celtics. Potapenko
finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, which has
dropped two straight games.
"This is a tough loss for us," Celtics' coach Rick Pitino
said. "We were hoping they would miss, rather than getting after
them like we did in the first half and forcing them to miss."
Manning scored seven of his 15 points in an 11-0 Bucks run that
tied the game at 99 with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics shot a blistering 67 percent in the first quarter to
take a 42-24 advantage en route to a 66-48 halftime lead.
"This was a very difficult loss for the players because they
played their finest half of basketball," Pitino said.
Paul Pierce had 17 of his 22 points in the first quarter.
Game notes
Cassell, Allen, and Glenn Robinson are the only teammates
among the NBA's top 25 in scoring. ... The Celtics 6-3 start at
home is their best since 1990-91 when they won 19 of their first 20
at home. ... Pierce scored in double figures for the 26th
consecutive game. ... Celtics F Walter McCarty hit one 3-pointer
and has now made 14 of 28 attempts this season.
| |
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Milwaukee Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Milwaukee 114
Boston 112
Charlotte 118
Washington 85
Philadelphia 106
Cleveland 83
Indiana 105
Vancouver 86
Detroit 93
Atlanta 91
Portland 91
Houston 88
San Antonio 101
Chicago 78
Denver 114
Minnesota 105
Toronto 100
Utah 87
Seattle 98
LA Clippers 93
LA Lakers 103
New Jersey 80
Sacramento 124
Golden State 95
|
