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| (Getty Images / NBAE) |
MILWAUKEE, March 15 (AP) -- The Boston Celtics managed an easy victory without one of their three stars Saturday night, beating the Milwaukee Bucks 99-77 as injured guard Ray Allen sat in a suit at the end of the bench.
Even with Allen out of action because of a bruised left heel, the Celtics had no problem rebounding from their home loss to Utah on Friday. Kevin Garnett scored 19 to lead Boston, and Eddie House added 17 - all but two of which came in the second half as the Celtics emptied their bench.
Charlie Bell scored 16 to lead Milwaukee, which has lost five straight and eight of its last nine. Boston held Milwaukee to 34.1 percent shooting from the floor, just above its season low of 32.9 percent set in a Nov. 3 victory over Chicago.
Allen left Friday's game after slipping and falling in the first quarter. Before Saturday's game, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Allen might be able to play again as early as Monday.
And the Celtics will need him, as the rest of their current five-game road trip sends them to San Antonio, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans.
"It's nothing serious,'' Rivers said. "It's just a bruise in his heel, and we want it to go away. So the best way is rest.''
Full AP recap
Postgame News and Notes
The Celtics improved to 23-8 outside of Boston with tonight’s victory, and tied the Orlando Magic for most road wins. Orlando played at home tonight against the Indiana Pacers.
The Celtics have now won 11 of their last 12 games, including a streak of five straight road victories.
The Bucks dropped to 1-5 in a stretch where they will play seven of eight at the Bradley Center. They also fell to 0-2 during an ongoing four-game home stand, the team’s longest of the season.
The Bucks are now 17-16 at the Bradley Center on the season.
Charlie Bell led all Bucks off the bench tonight with 16 points.
With 10 points tonight, Charlie Villanueva narrowly scored in double-digits for the 12th time in 17 games as a starter dating back to Feb. 5 vs. Memphis.
P.J. Brown set new season highs with 9 rebounds, 4 points and 4 assists in 23:22 minutes off the bench. His previous highs were 6 rebounds (vs. Chicago, 3/7/2008) and 3 points (twice). The 4 assists were his first dishes since joining the team in late February.
The Celtics outscored the Bucks 18-7 to close the first half, including a 7-0 stretch.
Boston did not hit a single three-point shot until late in the 4th quarter. The Bucks blanked an opponent from downtown once this season (at Philadelphia, 1/8/2008).
After missing their first 10 three-pointers, Boston players hit four straight to close the game. The Celtics finished 4 of 14 (28.6%).
Bucks center Jake Voskuhl left the game with gastroenteritis (stomach). He did not return.
The Bucks outscored the Celtics 9-2 to open the 4th quarter.
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GAMEDAY ARCHIVE
Click "play" on the video player to the right to watch exclusive locker room video following Saturday's loss to Boston. Or use the links below to watch and listen to archived video and audio.
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Locker room: Desmond Mason & Charlie Bell
Post-game: Coach K
Game highlights
For exclusive locker room video from tonight's game, check out the AT&T Multimedia Vault!
Larry Krystkowiak
(On tonight’s game…)
“Defensively, we’ve been steadily getting worse down the stretch as the seasons wore on. We struggled just as much offensively. (The Celtics) are well-oiled offensively and defensively. They’re one step ahead on their rotations. The first half made it really hard for us to get into our offense. I thought that carried over.”
(On why the team has struggled defensively…)
“I wish we could put our finger on it. It’s a real fine line, the energy that you need to bring to the table. We’re not out there being real proactive and making plays and filled with a lot of energy. I think at this level we’re talking about milliseconds in terms of reaction and we just don’t quite have that reaction and the pep in our step that we need to have. I think that’s the bottom line. It’s hard to capture that right now.”
(On playing without Andrew Bogut tonight...)
“Andrew (Bogut) has been an anchor for us in the back, there’s no doubt. He’s probably our best team defender in terms of being in the right spot and rotations. He takes a number of charges and blocks a number of shots. We’ve been short-handed inside with he and Yi (Jianlian) being out. I think those guys will both be back here next week, which will help.”
Desmond Mason
(On tonight’s game…)
“We have guys coming back off of injury. We missed Andrew (Bogut), we lost Jake (Voskuhl). It’s just kind of the same thing the team went through last year. I wasn’t here last year but I know the team went through a lot of injuries. It’s a tough situation when you’re always undermanned. You don’t have the opportunity to go out and play full strength. We played a tough team tonight. They were aggressive and we couldn’t get shots to fall.”
(On the mindset in the locker room…)
“We want to make sure we stay together and make sure we finish the season off strong. We want to approach every game the right way and know when we step out on the floor that we can win basketball games. That’s the way we’re approaching them now regardless if we’re full strength or not.”
Charlie Bell
(On tonight’s game…)
“The rhythm was just off tonight. We had Mo (Williams) coming back with his first game. It’s hard to get shots. You have to give (the Celtics) credit. They’re the best team in the NBA right now. Offensively they make you guard people and defensively they get into guys. They’re a great defensive team.”
(On playing a tough Celtics team tonight…)
“You can’t make any mistakes against a team like that. To beat them you have to play near perfect basketball because they’re good.”
Photos by Gary Dineen (NBAE/Getty Images)
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