You know those games where you just stare at the TV, blink a few times, and wonder if someone secretly replaced the regulation rims with carnival hoops? That was Thursday night for the Boston Celtics. In a twist that felt scripted by a chaotic NBA writer, the Celtics saw their five-game win streak snap in spectacular fashion against a Milwaukee Bucks team that, on paper, shouldn’t have had a chance.
Milwaukee was missing Giannis Antetokounmpo. They had lost 10 of their last 12 games. This was supposed to be a scheduled win for Boston. Instead, it turned into an “NBA Classic”—just in the absolute worst way imaginable for anyone wearing Celtic green.
A Historic Shooting Slump vs. the Bucks
If you turned the game off at halftime, you probably felt fine. But the third quarter? That was straight out of a horror movie. The Celtics came out of the locker room and couldn’t buy a bucket. We aren’t talking about a standard cold streak here; we are talking about a statistical anomaly.
Boston shot 0-of-12 from deep in the third quarter. They actually opened the second half missing 16 straight three-pointers. It was the kind of drought that makes you check your WiFi connection to see if the stream is glitching. While Boston was busy building a brick house, the Bucks took full advantage. They couldn’t miss, turning a competitive game into a 116-101 rout. In the NBA, process usually matters more than results, but when you shoot 18.2% in a quarter, the process goes out the window.
The Kuzma and Portis Show
To add insult to injury, it wasn’t just that the Celtics were missing; it was who was beating them. The Bucks got monster performances from the erratic but talented duo of Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis.
Kuzma dropped 31 points and was feeling himself enough to trash-talk Jaylen Brown about Twitch streams (yes, really). Meanwhile, Bobby Portis, who never met a moment of confrontation he didn’t love, poured in 27 points and 10 rebounds. Portis was chirping so much that he picked up a technical, which seemed to only power him up like a video game boss. When those two are hitting contested shots, and the Celtics can’t hit open ones, you just have to tip your cap and move on.
Finding the Silver Lining In Milwaukee
If you need a reason not to doom-scroll through Celtics Twitter, look at Jordan Walsh. Amidst the carnage, Walsh looked like he belonged. He started the game 8-for-8 from the field, finishing with 20 points and 8 boards. His energy was the only thing keeping the pulse alive during that disastrous second half.
Ultimately, these nights happen in an 82-game grind. Sometimes the Bucks, even without their “Greek Freak”, catch fire, and sometimes the best team in the league forgets how to shoot. It’s a brutal watch, but it won’t define the season. The Celtics head home to face the Pistons on Monday, where they’ll hope the lids are finally off the rims.
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