Faced with a road game against one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams the Milwaukee Bucks had every opportunity to fold when things got difficult on Thursday night. They hung tough, but still lost 112-107.
The Boston Celtics used 13 first half points from Amir Johnson (who averages 7.3 per game) to claim a significant 17 point lead. Meanwhile the Bucks struggled with turnovers and paint defense. They could have easily folded their tents and called it a night but they stayed mentally tough and were able to remain in relative striking distance (10 points) at halftime.
That resilience can and should be taken as a sure sign of growth.
You have to go all the way back to January 29th at Memphis for the last time the Bucks were utterly dominated and simply folded.
The Celtics gave the Bucks another chance to pack it in during the third quarter when they took an 18 point lead on an Isiah Thomas three (27 points, 7 assists) with 4:22 remaining in the period.
Earlier in the season the Bucks would have shrugged their shoulders and meekly went through the motions as their opponents rang up the scoreboard like a shootout basketball machine.
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Those days are (hopefully) gone.
Led by 10 fourth quarter points from Jabari Parker (22 points, 6 rebounds) the Bucks clawed to within five points of the Celtics with 5:47 remaining.
Unfortunately the Celtics responded with three triples to ultimately close out the pesky Bucks.
But you have to admire the way the Bucks hung in there.
That’s a sign of development and improvement. With playoffs out of the conversation improving on a nightly basis is the best thing the Bucks can do as the season winds down.
They may have lost to the Celtics on Thursday night, but the fact that they hung tough on the road with an Eastern Conference contender should give fans something to cheer about.
As always check out our Milwaukee Bucks grades and reactions for complete coverage.
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