Fiserv Forum has not been kind to the Boston Celtics this season. Two games, two brutal losses for Boston at the hands of an odd Milwaukee Bucks squad. They had lost five games in a row before getting back on track with a 104-91 win over the Celtics on Tuesday night.
As Brook Lopez splashed four threes in the first quarter, the Celtics struggled to make even their open ones. And despite a couple of comeback attempts, they were thwarted time and time again.
Here are three things you might have missed.
1. D-White threads the needle
The Bucks were sending multiple bodies at the Celtics whenever they got inside. That didn’t matter on this play.
Derrick White makes a gorgeous pass to Sam Hauser for a layup to end the first quarter.
2. Jrue Holiday… interesting pass
Boston has some pretty steady hands leading the way. They average the fewest turnovers in the NBA this season at 11.9 per game. As soon as Jrue Holiday made this pass, the game was a walking red flag.
Did he not see Bobby Portis? Was he trying to thread the needle and failed? Did the ball slip out of his hand?
This was one of those where you just have to laugh it off and move on. It was so bad that the real question should be whether or not Holiday meant to make it.
3. Lack of fouls personified
The Celtics made NBA history on Tuesday night. They became the first team in NBA history to shoot zero free throws in a game. And it wasn’t for lack of contact.
To be perfectly clear, the refs weren’t calling anything for either side, as the Bucks only shot two free throws, but some of the missed fouls were crazy.
Once they missed this call on Xavier Tillman, it was clear they weren’t going to blow the whistles at all.
Tillman beat Giannis Antetokounmpo on the drive, and the Greek Freak slapped his hands down across his arms to stop the drive. But the refs just swallowed their whistles. Wild.
