For about the final 10 minutes of basketball in Milwaukee, the Celtics were playing like a team that thought they were going to win. The Bucks? They were playing like a team that thought they were going to lose.
The difference was that the Bucks were holding onto a 19-point lead. Though Boston did come all the way back to tie things up, an Avery Bradley foul with one second left put the Bucks back up by one point, and they'd beat the Celtics, 112-111.
Milwaukee used a 40-point third quarter to take that big lead on the Celtics going into the fourth quarter. They shot 75-percent in the third quarter and dominated the Celtics in the paint all night long. The Bucks scored 64 points in the paint compared to the Celtics' 44, though Boston had just 28 through three quarters.
It was that fourth quarter that Boston turned things around and made a game out of it.
That 19 point lead turned to 15 . . .
Then nine . . .
Five . . . three . . .
Then the Celtics actually tied things up on a Jae Crowder three-pointer with under thirty seconds to play.
But Greg Monroe, who dominated the Celtics all night to the tune of 29 points and 12 rebounds, put down a little jump hook with one second remaining to give the Bucks a two-point jump shot.
The Celtics came out of an inbounds with a play designed for Kelly Olynyk at the rim. But Olynyk was fouled going to the rim, and he'd hit both free throws to tie it up - but there was still one second remaining.
So it was then the Bucks' turn . . . and this is the part that will keep Bradley up at night.
Bradley reached in and fouled Bucks guard Kris Middleton after the inbounds, putting him to the line. Middleton hit the first and intentionally missed the second with 0.6 seconds on the clock and the C's out of timeouts.
That was your game - and for just the second time in 11 games, the Celtics came out on the wrong end of it.
Bradley was the C's best player in this game, finishing with a plus-22 thanks to the C's big fourth-quarter comeback. He had 18 points along with Jae Crowder, who also had 18 points.
Player of the Game - Greg Monroe
Greg Monroe signed a three-year max deal with the Bucks over the offseason, but it's safe to say that he hasn't exactly had a great start to his career in Milwaukee. In fact, head coach Jason Kidd had him come off the bench Tuesday night.
Perhaps that woke him up a bit. Monroe was dominant in the middle quarters, getting pretty much whatever he wanted on the post and in the paint. He finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and hit the biggest shot of the game with one second remaining to give the Bucks a two-point lead (though things would get crazy after that).
Stat to Track
We talked about the points in the paint being a back-breaker in this game, but there was also another back-breaker: turnovers.
The Celtics gave wayyyyy to many possessions away through three quarters - 18, to be exact. And ya know what? They didn't turn the ball over once in the fourth quarter, a quarter that saw them outscore the Bucks, 37-19. That's not a coincidence.
Turning Point
There were about six turning points in the final minutes of this game, but let's rewind way back to the first quarter when Amir Johnson picked up not one, not two, but three fouls. The Celtics had a 10-point lead when he was taken out of the game shortly after the third foul. And that's when Milwaukee starting chipping away and Monroe went off on everybody.
What's Next?
The Celtics will say hello to old friends Doc Rivers and Paul Pierce on Wednesday as the Clippers come to town. This will be the C's last game before the All-Star Break.