Milwaukee Bucks: Player grades from 119-112 win over Boston Celtics

Things couldn’t have started worse for the Boston Celtics Friday night, but they certainly gave the Bucks quite the challenge as the game unfolded. For much of the night, the Celtics’ offense was gummed down, which can be attributed to the limited minutes for All-Star guard Kemba Walker and the truly miserable outing Jayson Tatum slogged through. The one-time All-Star finished with five points on 18 shots from the field (0-for-4 from three, 1-for-2 from the foul line). Yet for those two facts, the Celtics got a huge boost from Marcus Smart, who led the team with 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting and three triples. Along with that, the Bucks’ sloppiness, both with the ball and allowing 34 free throw attempts to the Celtics, closed the gap to make the game much closer than it arguably should have been. Even all of the controversy aside, Boston’s offensive struggles and thin depth limited them from ultimately taking a win over the league-leading Bucks.. Eastern Conference. 43-22. BOSTON CELTICS. C+

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