They finish this one on a 13-3 run, the kind of burst they needed all game but couldn’t muster.
Kevin Garnett finishes with 25 points and nine rebounds to continue a phenomenal stretch for him. He also moved into 25th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Five other Boston players reach double figures in a 52.2 percent shooting effort.
Some other notable numbers from this one:
– Rajon Rondo fell a rebound shy of his sixth career triple-double with 11 points, 13 assists and nine boards. He also had five steals.
– Milwaukee grabbed 14 offensive boards and held a 44-35 advantage on the glass.
– Outside of Andrew Bogut, who had 25 points and 14 rebounds, the Bucks were 23-of-62 from the floor in losing for the eighth time in nine games.
The C’s three-game road trip begins Thursday in Washington. We will follow that one for you so be sure to check us out.
Fourth quarter, 38.5 seconds, Celtics 98-89: That will just about do it as Kevin Garnett hits again from outside.
Garnett has 25 points and nine rebounds and the streak looks like it will remain alive.
Fourth quarter, 1:03, Celtics 96-89: Without injured sharpshooter Michael Redd, the Bucks don’t have a lot of options when they need to trim a seven-point deficit in 63 seconds.
They are just 4-of-13 from the arc tonight.
Fourth quarter, 1:48, Celtics 96-88: Ersan Ilyasova hits a pair of free throws to snap a 7-0 Celtics run but Ray Allen hits a 3-pointer that could be the dagger.
Fourth quarter, 3:09, Celtics 91-86: Another note on Rajon Rondo as he approaches what would be his sixth career triple-double.
Rondo finished the first quarter with zero points, two rebounds and two assists.
Fourth quarter, 4:08, Celtics 89-86: Rajon Rondo is hitting his free throws and is now flirting with a triple-double.
He is 5-of-7 from the stripe and needs two points and a rebound in the closing minutes for the triple-double.
Fourth quarter, 5:11, Celtics 85-84: You cannot really blame Kendrick Perkins for the big night by Andrew Bogut.
Perkins has been in pretty good position on a number of plays but Bogut simply is hitting his shots, almost all of them soft hooks with either hand.
Bogut has already established season highs with 25 points and 13 rebounds.
Fourth quarter, 7:48, Celtics 81-78: Rasheed Wallace has been a one-man wrecking crew off the bench.
He has 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting while the rest of the reserves have combined for six points on 2-of-10 shooting and have four turnovers.
Wallace has none.
Fourth quarter, 8:45, Celtics 78-75: Just as I type how the Bucks keep cutting into deficits Brandon Jennings hits a tough shot and it is a one-possession game once again.
Fourth quarter, 9:09, Celtics 78-73: Rajon Rondo’s first basket kicks off a quick 5-0 burst and the Celtics again have the lead.
They have consistently built small leads and seen the Bucks chip away.
Fourth quarter, 11:18, Celtics 73-71: Rajon Rondo gets his first points but really earned it after he was clotheslined going to the hoop and landed hard on the baseline.
End of third quarter, 71-71: Carlos Delfino banks in a shot at the buzzer to forge the game’s first tie since midway through the second quarter.
It was an 11-2 run overall for the Bucks, during which the Celtics were 1-of-6 and committed three turnovers.
Boston finally cooled off a bit in the third by making 8-of-20 shots.
Third quarter, 1:38, Celtics 69-67: The Bucks will not go away here, as they put together seven straight points to get within two.
Third quarter, 3:23, Celtics 69-60: This is turning into a Kevin Garnett-Andrew Bogut affair.
The pair has combined for 41 points on 16-of-23 shooting and Garnett may have just knocked Bucks guard Luke Ridnour from the game.
As Garnett wrestled for a loose ball, Ridnour got his arm tied up in the mix and came up holding his left arm.
At this point Ridnour has seen almost as much action as Milwaukee star rookie Brandon Jennings, who has just nine points and two assists.
Third quarter, 5:41, Celtics 64-56: It has been very methodical but the Celtics have built their largest lead of the game.
Right now, Boston is simply shooting the ball better than Milwaukee. The C’s are 6-of-10 in the third quarter and at 55.8 percent for the game.
The Bucks, meanwhile, opened fast but are now in danger of falling below 40 percent.
Third quarter, 8:53, Celtics 57-52: The line for Rajon Rondo is getting more interesting by the minute.
After finding Kevin Garnett for an open jumper and Kendrick Perkins for a layup he had nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals while failing to score a single point.
Third quarter, 11:41, Celtics 51-48: Underway here in the second half and Paul Pierce gets to the line for a pair of quick free throws.
On a side note, there were some reports that the Bucks were a bit frustrated with the play of former top pick Andrew Bogut, but his play in the first half should please them
Boguts had 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists in just over 18 minutes of the first half.
Halftime, Celtics 49-48: The Celtics finish the half on a 12-8 run which featured a whole lot of Rajon Rondo and Kenrick Perkins.
Rondo found Perkins for a dunk of a layup three times in the burst. Rondo finished the half with zero points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Kevin Garnett leads the Celtics with 12 points. Andrew Bogut has the same total to pace the Bucks.
Boston is 18-of-31 (58 percent) from the floor. Milwaukee is 19-of-44 (43 percent), but has 15 assists on those 19 hoops.
Back in a bit for the second half.
Second quarter, 2:47, Celtics 41-40: A quick 4-0 burst gives the C’s the lead back and forces Milwaukee into a timeout.
Boston is shooting 53.6 percent from the floor and has forced nine turnovers but continues to get beat on the glass and has missed six free throws.
Second quarter, 4:13, Bucks 39-37: Paul Pierce has been removed after picking up his third foul, the second on the offensive end.
Second quarter, 4:32, 37-37: The Bucks have now taken 13 more shots than the Celtics after a few more offensive boards.
I’ll refrain from mentioning that again until it becomes more of an issue.
After a long spell on the bench it would be nice to see Boston get Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins going again inside. It appeared early on as if they would have their way, but that changed in a heartbeat.
Second quarter, 7:52, 31-31: Hate to beat a dead horse here but the Celtics’ inability to rebound on the defensive end is hurting them again.
The Bucks have five offensive boards already, compared to zero for Boston. In part because of this Milwaukee has already taken 12 more shots than the hosts.
Second quarter, 10:53, Bucks 27-26: The Celtics have only one field goal – a Ray Allen 3-pointer – in the last five minutes and have no rhythm on offense right now.
That interior dominance it looked like they had early on has been absent with the second unit on the floor.
End of first quarter, Bucks 27-26: An up-and-down last minute of the first quarter ends when Brandon Jennings gets a basket and a foul shot to give the Bucks their first lead.
Rajon Rondo’s shot at the buzzer was too late.
The C’s are 7-of-12 from the line and have been outrebounded, 12-7. Included in that are three offensive boards for the Bucks, an issue Doc Rivers expressed concern over before the game.
First quarter, 2:28, Celtics 23-20: Bucks coach Scott Skiles took Brandon Jennings to the bench very early in this one, and Doc Rivers followed by removing Rajon Rondo moments later.
Jennings was inserted back in with about four minutes left in the quarter and is now matched up with Eddie House. Tony Allen has made his debut for the Celts.
On another note, it looked early on as if Ersan Ilyasova was in for a long night as Kevin Garnett took it to him early. But Ilyasova has acquitted himself rather well since, scoring seven points, grabbing four rebounds, finding Andrew Bogut with a nice pass underneath for a score and holding his own against Garnett.
The C’s, who have posted some impressive shooting performances of late, are 8-of-12 from the floor.
First quarter, 6:17, Celtics 13-9: It is clear here in the early-going that the Celtics have a decided advantage in the paint and they intend on exploiting that.
Every basket so far has come in close, including a dunk by Paul Pierce moments ago.
First quarter, 8:10, Celtics 8-7: Rajon Rondo fires the first shot in his matchup with Brandon Jennings.
After Jennings forces up a miss on the offensive end, he is burned in the open court by Rondo, who then leaves a pretty bounce pass to Kevin Garnett for an easy two.
First quarter, 10:40, Celtics 2-0: It did not take long for the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week to get going.
Kevin Garnett, who was given the honor for his play on the Celtics’ 4-0 road trip, gets a dunk on the opening possession and draws a foul on the next.
Alas, he misses both free throws.
First quarter, 11:55, 0-0: We are underway here at the Garden where the Celtics seem like an endangered species of late, with so few home games.
The matchup generating all the buzz is Rajon Rondo vs. Brandon Jennings. The battle underneath between the surging Kendrick Perkins and former top pick Andrew Bogut bears watching as well.
7:18 p.m.: Starting lineups for both teams are in and there are no surprises.
The Celtics go with Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, the unit which has gone 101-28 together since the start of the 2007-08 season.
Milwaukee has Brandon Jennings and Carlos Delfino at guard, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute and Ersan Ilyasova at forward and Andrew Bogut underneath.
There are a few milestones within reach for the Celtics.
Allen enters just 27 points away from becoming the 33rd player in NBA history to reach 20,000 for his career. Pierce, meanwhile is 25 points from the 19,000-point mark, which has been reached by 45 players previously.
7:00 p.m.: Greetings from the Garden (for the first time in ages, it seems), where Doc Rivers has just briefed us on a wide range of topics, from Marquis Daniels to Tim Donaghy.
Daniels is out tonight with his wrist and thumb injuries and while test results will not be released until tomorrow, Rivers knows the absence will be more than a game.
“Well, I don’t think he’s gonna play the next couple of games for sure,” Rivers said.
The ailments were not only affecting Daniels, Rivers said, but also Eddie House, whose shooting has been up and down as Daniels’ passes to him have been a bit erratic.
Of course, Tony Allen will immediately be thrust into a prominent role off the bench. Rivers said he is not asking much of Allen other than to play solid defense.
After expressing appreciation for Bucks rookie point guard Brandon Jennings and concern over the Celtics’ defensive rebounding woes, Rivers was asked about former NBA referee Tim Donaghy and his comments today that Rivers is not high on the list for many refs.
“I’m so sick of that guy. I really am,” Rivers said. “I love our league and I hate what’s going on, giving credibility to that guy.”
Donaghy has been making several public appearances in the wake of his recent book that alleges several gambling indiscretions among NBA officials.
On that nice note, we are about 40 minutes from tip. Starting lineups in a bit.
12:03 p.m.: Following an impressive 4-0 road trip and a well-deserved three-day rest, the Celtics host the Milwaukee Bucks at TD Garden in a matchup of two teams headed in opposite directions.
We will be courtside for this one, bringing you everything from the pregame hype to the postgame reaction. Tip is set for just after 7:30 p.m.The C’s have not been at home for 11 days, but return in great shape. Their 105-87 rout of Oklahoma City on Friday was the seventh straight win overall and improved the team to an NBA-best 9-1 on the road.
Boston will be without Marquis Daniels, out with wrist and thumb injuries, but expects to see the season debut of Tony Allen, sidelined to this point after offseason ankle surgery.
This will be our first look at Bucks rookie standout Brandon Jennings, who is averaging 21.3 points and 5.8 assists through his first 19 games in the league. But as Jennings goes, so go the Bucks, and lately that formula has suffered.
During Milwaukee’s current 1-7 stretch, Jennings has averaged 15.9 points on 32.0 percent shooting. He did have 24 points in a 101-86 loss to Cleveland on Sunday, but the Bucks were outscored 29-0 during a miserable stretch in the first half and were never in it thereafter.
The Celts had won six straight in the series before Milwaukee won the last meeting in March.
