The Boston Celtics fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 116-91 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals and are now eliminated from the NBA Playoffs with the Bucks winning the series 4-1. The Bucks won four straight games, led by MVP candidate Giannis Antetokounmpo and in no small part due to Kyrie Irving and the second unit continuing to struggle from the field.
Irving’s inefficiency reared it’s ugly head in Game 5 as well, with the superstar going just 6-21 from the field and being brought to the bench with well over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter. Clearly pressing after a career-worst three-game stretch as a scorer in the postseason, Irving took a number of ill-advised shots though he was able to convert over the Bucks’ big men with a soft floater.
However, it wasn’t all on Irving with fellow starters in Jayson Tatum (3-10), Jaylen Brown (3-9) and Al Horford (4-13) all had trouble getting their shots to go down. To that point, a major issue for Boston was a lack of ball-movement, with contributed to the team’s lack of rhythm, energy and efficiency.
Too often would the Celtics come down the court to take a quick jumper. They would eventually start to make better decisions as a team but had Milwaukee’s starters been able to impose their will early on, the game would have been out of hand earlier.
Fortunately for Boston, sharpshooting wing Khris Middleton finishes just 5-15 from the field (and 2-6 from three) while center Brook Lopez missed all seven of his field goal attempts (which came from three-point range). Though less aggressive than he had been earlier in the series, Antetokounmpo was a great facilitator for Milwaukee, driving and kicking the ball out on his way fo dishing out a team-high eight assists.
Meanwhile, Bucks point guards George Hill and Eric Bledsoe combined for 34 points on an efficient 13-24 shooting from the field, providing an intriguing complement to each other with Hill knocking down tough and timely jumpers and Bledsoe attacking the rim with ferocity.
With 14 points and 11 rebounds off the bench, Marcus Morris helped even the previously lopsided bench battle but ultimately, neither Gordon Hayward and Terry Rozier would find a way to establish a rhythm and play like x-factors.
A team that seems destined to need a facelift in light of a rocky season that revealed some of their uglier characteristics, their Celtics now turn their attention to a pivotal offseason.
