Shorthanded Celtics Continue to Find Ways to Win, Pulling One Out Against Banged-Up Bucks
Not when they can power through it and still have the Eastern Conference's best record, at 46-15. Not when they've got the money to splash around on the buyout market and bring in three new free agents in one week.
And oh, especially not when they're facing a team that's had it even worse.
The C's may have had a thin rotation on Sunday night in Milwaukee, but the host Bucks went into the prime-time tilt with their starting front line (Andrew Bogut and Drew Gooden) shattered, and their primary backup (Ersan Ilyasova) gone as well. Doc Rivers' Celtics had spare parts filling out their second unit; Scott Skiles had a couple in his starting five.
"You had two teams with a hundred injuries," Rivers said. "They have starters out, we have our entire bench out. It was going to be a funky game, but someone was going to have to win it. Just let it be us."
It was indeed Rivers' Celtics, who persevered and closed it out strong for an 89-83 win at the Bradley Center. Injuries be damned, the C's have won five straight.
"We're just doing it," the coach said. "We're just hanging in and winning games."
It was a choppy, ugly game on both sides for the most part. The Bucks had no post presence, leaving them to attempt picking and rolling the Celtics to death; the Celtics were so tired that it almost worked. Brandon Jennings had 20 points in the first three quarters, using his youth and athleticism to overwhelm the C's.
The Celtics could have let this one slip away, but they stepped up in the fourth quarter and fought for it. Rivers called a timeout with 2:51 to play and the game tied 82-82; the C's hobbled out of that huddle and put together a 7-1 run to finish it. Kevin Garnett iced the cake with a monster block on Luc Richard Mbah a Moute in the final seconds.
But it wasn't just KG's big play that won this one — it was a team effort.
"It was our whole defense in the second half," Rivers said. "They had what, 49 points in the first half? I think they average 88, so they were over their number at halftime. Really it came from two areas, our turnovers and second shots. I thought we still turned the ball over a little bit [in the second], but we took away the second shots. The defense in the second half won the game for us."
The Celtics held the Bucks to 16 points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth, and they still just barely won. Sometimes even great teams have to win ugly.
There's no telling when, if ever, the Celtics will be able to snap out of this. It shouldn't take a clutch play in the final seconds for this team to beat a squad that's 23-38, but because of the injuries and the personnel changes the C's have gone through, they are where they are.
It's tough to grind out a squeaker of a win every time out. The Celtics are still trying to reach that next level.
"I'll just take the health," Rivers said. "I don't care what the score is, but I just need health. Really, it's not even about the game today, it's just about getting our continuity going."
"We're definitely missing a beat," admitted Paul Pierce. "We're not where we want to be. But we're a veteran group with a great core of guys that keep finding a way. Hopefully in these next couple weeks, we can get some guys off injuries, get the new guys acclimated, and get more and more experience in practice and games. We're only going to get better from here on out."
