The Boston Celtics earned a Game 4 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in large part because of a stellar fourth quarter on the offensive end of the floor.
The Celtics, with Jayson Tatum scoring 10 points in the final six minutes, Al Horford putting on a second-half clinic, and Marcus Smart contributing a pair of late buckets in the paint, shot an exceptional 16-for-19 from the floor in the final 12 minutes. It not only earned Boston the highest fourth-quarter point total in the postseason, but also helped the visitors tie up the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.
Now, with the Green welcoming the Bucks to TD Garden for Game 5 on Wednesday night, Boston will look to try to keep that efficiency going. Jaylen Brown explained what it will take for the group to do so.
“Just got to be patient, be poised, make the right decisions, continue to be physical. But, you know, taking what’s given to us the first time. Don’t play with it, just go. Get to your spots and execute,” Brown said on a video conference before Wednesday’s game. “I think those are the keys down the line.
“Especially once you get tired, fourth quarter, legs will get tired. Getting to your spots, getting there, getting down (the floor) early could be the difference between making a shot and missing a shot. It’s the little things.”
The Celtics outscored the Bucks 43-28 in the fourth quarter Monday night. Boston’s small lineup — Derrick White, Smart, Brown, Tatum and Horford — outscored the Bucks 24-9, while shooting 8-for-9 from the field with zero turnovers in five minutes.
And that came with Brown missing much of the fourth quarter after picking up his fifth foul late in the third. It wasn’t a call he agreed with, to say the least.
The Celtics will look to continue their momentum with a pivotal Game 5 set to tip off at 7 p.m. ET.
