The Milwaukee Bucks lost to the Celtics by 5 after a close game late in the game. With the game in reach, a blatant shot clock violation had players walking around to inbound the ball. To most peoples surprise the ref ruled the shot was on time and the Celtics rebounded the obvious missed call. To make it worse the shot was ruled a three even though it should have been ruled a normal shot. Luckily, the shot was not made so this would not matter.
Early in the first quarter, the Milwaukee Bucks of the past showed up despite fans hoping they would not come back. While turnovers and not enough bench help did hurt the Bucks, a new factor stabbed them in the back. In the playoffs, the Bucks had been on fire from the floor shooting shots better than everyone in the Playoffs. In this game, the Bucks, especially the bench and Eric Bledsoe, could not buy a shot. One very bright spot in the game was Shabazz Muhammad who scored quickly and efficiently off the bench. A quiet scoring night from Giannis gave way to a near triple-double. One thing many have noticed when Giannis has a quiet night is that he never gets enough shots to score enough points.
Late in the game, an 11 point deficit was turned into a 4 point deficit that looked to shrink even further when great defense leads to a shot clock violation. In contrast, the refs decided otherwise. Like stated earlier in the article the call was easy for anyone following the NBA. While this shot may have doomed the Bucks it was how they played the rest of the game that killed them. In the return of role player Marcus Smart, he was quiet but still a major difference in the presence he brought to the floor. Bucks HC Joe Prunty said this about the questionable call “ Its a Shot Clock Violation.” When asked about Marcus Smart he stated “ He made some hustle plays… He played his normal game.” In conclusion, it may have been a bad call but it didn’t cover up bad play on the Bucks side the entire game.
By: Weston Olds
Celtics Take 3-2 Series Lead, Beat Bucks 92-87
