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

Grayson Allen helps propel the Milwaukee Bucks’ late comeback but does not get much of a chance in overtime

Anyone that has watched the Bucks this season has seen how important Allen has been for the defending world champs. The guard has been on a tear offensively as he continues to shatter his previous career-highs from other seasons, and after struggling early against the Celtics, he got it going late to give this depleted Milwaukee squad a chance.

Allen knocked down three of his five 3-pointers during the fourth quarter, all off passes from the aforementioned Holiday. This included a stepback 3-pointer with a tick under 14 seconds left to tie the game at 108 and ultimately send it to overtime. At that point, Allen had 21 points and was feeling it on the offensive end. For whatever reason, the Bucks did not ride the hot hand heading into the overtime period.

The red-hot Allen did not start on the floor during overtime, which was a head-scratching decision from head coach Mike Budenholzer. He had been situational with his substitutions all night long, but when a player knocks down three 3-pointers to send the game to overtime, he has to stay in there. To make matters worse, he got just one shot attempt in the period, and it was not a triple, but a layup, which he missed. Instead, it was Holiday and Portis attempting to seal the Bucks’ comeback, which did not exactly pan out in the end.

Allen’s lack of touches in overtime will certainly be a hot topic of discussion regarding this game, although no one will stay focused on it for too long. It stings that the Bucks fell just short, but this contest should only provide optimism for what a healthy Bucks team can do when they are back to full strength. Still, the thought of staying healthy has remained just a hope for Milwaukee this year as their injury woes continue piling up.

Hopefully, they will get some reinforcements when they take on the Atlanta Hawks this Sunday, and be sure to catch the action at 5:00 p.m. CST on Bally Sports Wisconsin.