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Andrew LopezESPN
MILWAUKEE — All members of the Boston CelticsFiserv Forum Saturday afternoon was incredulous
Boston's clock is ticking down, and the Celtics train by three. Jaylen BrownThe ball was handed to Marcus SmartOn the perimeter. Smart tried to get his shot off immediately. Milwaukee BucksGuard Jrue HolidayHe was given no space. Holiday's arm hit Smart's with a hammering sound, and the whistle blew instantly.
The foul was called on to the floor, a rip through, rather than a three-shot foul. This pleased the majority of the 17,736 who were there and everyone else in the Celtics' traveling party. Smart made the first throw but intentionally missed the second. Boston had another chance, but Smart was unable to score the third. Milwaukee took the win with a 103-101 victory and a 2-1 lead in best-of-seven.
Ime Udoka, Boston coach, said that he was flattered by the missed call.
It was a foul. It was a foul. He got the ball. “Both feet are set. That's not a sweep. You're going into a shot. It's a bad call. Poor no-call.”
Udoka replied that Smart had told him to sweep his arms.
Udoka explained that he saw the film in person and also saw it on the movie. It's a shot. He's about to take a shot. He was fouled on his way up. Bad missed call.”
Smart asked all the reporters present their views on the call and asked them what they thought. Smart replied, “It's all I have to say.”
Smart stated that in those circumstances, it didn't make sense to use the rip through move when the Celtics needed him to play for the tie.
“You need three [points]Smart stated, “They know they need three with 4.6 seconds.” Smart said, “We know they will foul. He did not grab me down low. I was already in my shooting motion. It was going to be 3 free throws. They said otherwise.
Smart, however, made the first free shot and intentionally missed the second to give the Celtics an opportunity. Smart, Robert Williams III Al HorfordAll tried, but none of them succeeded. Horford's second attempt did make it through the basket and some Celtics bench members were delighted. It was only a tenth second after the clock expired.
Horford said, “Smart timing it perfectly.” “I was able to get the rebound. The rebound was still hanging around the rim. It was a great look. It was a tip, and I missed it. I didn't realize it the second time. I was late. But we allowed ourselves the chance to tie it and send to overtime.
Smart claimed he made the call for the missed free throw by himself and told his teammates. But, Smart indicated that there could have been another miss call since his teammates were trying their best to score at the end.
It was perfect. Smart stated, “I missed it perfectly.” “Nobody was available. Our guys were. It was mine. [Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis]Pulling my shoulder throws me off. But I was able to take a good glance. I was able to get it on the rim. Al mentioned that we had many chances, but it didn’t work for us.
Boston trailed by as much as 13 points at the end of the fourth quarter, but stormed back to take the lead 100-99 on Jaylen Brown free throws. There was just 1:49 left. Milwaukee couldn't respond to Boston's next possession. Boston had two chances for Milwaukee to increase their lead to 4, but Smart, Brown and Brown both missed 3-pointers.
Next time, Giannis AntetokounmpoTo give the Bucks the lead, Holiday made a layup. Holiday made another stop and hit a bucket on the lane to increase the lead to 103-100% with 11.2 seconds remaining. Udoka had a play in mind coming out of timeout. It could have been a quick one, but the Bucks thwarted it.
Brown replied, “Smart threw that to me in the corner.” “Jrue holiday was on me. He was very persuasive in pressuring me. He took my spot when I was trying to reach it. I then flipped it back to Smart.
Brown then reflected on the decision at the end.
He said, “You have to understand score and time.” “We're down three. We want to make one. It was obvious to me. They've called that all year on the floor, which we know. They missed one, time and score.
Holiday stated that he believed Smart was still on the sidelines at the time of the contact. Holiday said, “That's definitely not a shooting motion.” “It wasn’t facing the rim.”
Milwaukee coach Mike BudenholzerThe Bucks did not intend to foul out three players in that situation. However, they were able to be thankful that the call was only for two free throws and not three.
Udoka considered using his challenge a few times before finally deciding to use it on a block/charge-call that went against Grant WilliamsWith 5:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. Udoka didn't have the challenge to ask officials to check if Smart was still in the shooting motion during the final possession of the game.
Udoka stated that they would like to save the animal more towards the end. “But their explanation was that if they do not fall down, then they don't call it. My guys will learn to flop more.
The final 16:30 of this game was a close one, with the Celtics being the more aggressive team despite the questionable decision at the end. Boston managed 17 free throws in that stretch, while Milwaukee only managed zero. Despite this, both teams played a lot of physical play throughout the contest.
Udoka did see his team complain too often and not get back on defense at times. Williams complained after Williams received a no-call from one end. Pat ConnaughtonUdoka was furious when Udoka hit a 3-pointer on one side.
Udoka stated, “As much they're going to let you play. You gotta play through it and have your composure.” “If they're going to call it that way on both ends, then you have to play through it and not fuss about the calls.”
Boston shot poorly throughout the game. They failed to exceed 35% shooting in the first three quarters, before hitting 11-of-22 shots during the fourth. Three of those were putback attempts later. Brown and Horford shot 17-of33 for 49 points. However, the Celtics had an awful night. Jayson TatumHe was at his worst. He finished with 10 point, shooting 4-of-19 and missing all six of his 3-point attempts.
Tatum was wearing a black wrap around both his wrist and left hand, just as he did in Game 2. After bracing himself for a dunk during the second quarter, Antetokounmpo fouled Tatum. The wrist pain was bothering him, but he stated that it had been bothering him for at least two months. He stated that it was not something he had ever dealt with before.
Tatum claimed that the original injury occurred two months ago when Tatum fell. Tatum also stated that, while rest would have been a good idea, it can still be sensitive as it continues to be hit. However, Tatum claims that the injury is now healed.
Tatum was also unhappy with the team's performance, and he felt they should have won.
“I mean, they played well. Tatum acknowledged that they were good players. “But, I think the most frustrating thing is that we still had the chance and returned to give ourselves a chance at winning the game. We didn't. That's hard.
Jamal Collier from ESPN contributed to this report.
