Milwaukee Bucks: 3 takeaways from tough OT loss to Boston Celtics

The Milwaukee Bucks entered Friday night’s contest versus the Boston Celtics more shorthanded than usual.

In addition to Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez, and Donte DiVincenzo still being sidelined, the Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo, who suffered an ankle sprain in the previous game. Clearly, they would have a tough time replicating the two-time MVP’s typical production. Yet, even without him and the others, the Bucks managed to make this game interesting, having a four-point lead at the half. However, Milwaukee is a team that is known for their poor third quarters this season, a trend that unfortunately continued last night as they lost the lead. They nearly completed an epic comeback but fell to the Celtics 122-113 in overtime. Despite the shortage of bodies, this loss stings as it feels as if it were right there for the taking. With that said, here are three takeaways from the contest.

The Milwaukee Bucks get dominated down low and on the glass without their bigs in the loss to the Boston Celtics

The Bucks have struggled enough this season rebounding and protecting the paint without their starting center in Lopez, but it would be another added challenge without Antetokounmpo. It was the 6-foot-5 Pat Connaughton that got the start at power forward in place of the Greek Freak and Bobby Portis alongside him at center. The Celtics took advantage of the shorthanded frontcourt by dominating down low.

First off, Boston pulled down 53 rebounds, compared to just 39 from Milwaukee. This undersized Bucks team could seemingly not get a rebound all night long, while the Celtics consistently hauled in offensive boards to create second-chance opportunities. The Celtics scored 17 second-chance points in the contest, largely thanks to Robert Williams III, as the big man hauled in six of Boston’s 16 offensive rebounds on the night. The road team had no answer to his dominance.

This offensive rebounding helped propel Boston’s onslaught down low, where they outscored the Bucks 62-42 in the paint. With Portis being Milwaukee’s only viable source of rim protection, this was expected. Games where the Bucks get overpowered like this should make fans appreciate the efforts of both Antetokounmpo and Lopez on both ends of the floor when they are available.