Bucks-Celtics Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Feb 29 2012 1:50AM

The Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks began the season's second half by ending long losing streaks.

The Celtics still aren't happy, but their mood may improve Wednesday night if they can open a four-game homestand by continuing their success against the Bucks.

Boston (16-17) emerged from the All-Star break to beat Cleveland 86-83 on Tuesday to snap a season high-tying five-game skid. The victory wasn't a thing of beauty, as the Celtics committed 18 turnovers, wasted a 16-point, first-quarter lead and needed a Ray Allen dunk with 48.6 seconds left to go ahead for good.

"It was a win, that's all it was for us," coach Doc Rivers said. "It was a good way to end the losing streak, but we have to be better than that. That was awful."

Boston, which is averaging 19.3 turnovers over its last three games, is tied with New York for seventh in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of a ninth-place tie between the Bucks (14-20) and Cleveland.

"We've got to fight through this," veteran big man Kevin Garnett said. "This is going to be a true grind right here, physically and mentally."

Milwaukee likely feels similarly after ending a six-game home losing streak with Tuesday's 119-118 victory over Washington, secured when Ersan Ilyasova tipped in a Brandon Jennings miss with 2.2 seconds left.

"We're glad to get the win," coach Scott Skiles said. "We're fortunate to win; we'll take it. We've struggled to make the last play several times this year."

Boston has had the upper hand against Milwaukee recently, winning 11 of the last 14 meetings overall and six of seven at TD Garden. The Celtics swept last season's three game series, which culminated in an 87-56 home victory last March 13.

Boston only needed 39 points from the Big Three of Allen, Garnett and Paul Pierce in that meeting. They could use more production from Pierce in particular Tuesday after he was limited to 12 points and six assists last March while committing six turnovers.

Jennings, who had 14 points and 10 assists for the Bucks in Tuesday's win, struggled in the last meeting with the Celtics, finishing with eight points and assists.

Milwaukee reserve Mike Dunleavy is coming off his best performance of 2011-12, scoring a season-high 28 points against the Wizards while hitting half of his 10 3-point attempts. That effort stood in stark contrast to his two points on 1-of-7 shooting in last Wednesday's 110-91 loss at Chicago, the Bucks' final contest before the All-Star break.

It's unclear if Milwaukee center Drew Gooden will be available after he left Tuesday's loss in the third quarter when he landed hard on his back. He'd been playing well, with 15 points and 10 rebounds after missing the previous four games with a sprained right wrist.

If Gooden is sidelined Wednesday, it will mark the third consecutive matchup with Boston that he has missed.

Garnett, Rondo (triple-double) lead Celts by Bucks

By JIMMY GOLEN
Posted Feb 29 2012 11:51PM

BOSTON (AP) For the second time in two nights, the Boston Celtics played a team trying to knock them out of the top eight in the Eastern Conference.

Both times, the aging former champions held onto their playoff position.

"I'm just glad we're back to .500," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Wednesday after Boston beat the Milwaukee Bucks 102-96 for its second straight win since entering the All-Star break on a five-game losing streak.

Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to record his third triple-double of the season, and Kevin Garnett scored 25 points with 10 rebounds. The victory over the ninth-place Bucks left the Celtics tied with the New York Knicks for the last two playoff spots in the East.

It's a bit of a comedown for the franchise that won its NBA-record 17th title in 2008 and returned to the finals two years later. But in this lockout-shortened season, Boston's best chance may be to eke into the playoffs well-rested and hope for an upset once it gets there.

"Hopefully we can get a good rhythm going here," Celtics forward Paul Pierce said. "And just kind of catch our stride in the second half of the season."

Ersan Ilyasova had 25 points with 10 rebounds and Drew Gooden scored 23 for the Bucks, who are percentage points ahead of the Cavaliers in ninth place. Brandon Jennings had just six points on 2-for-11 shooting to go with his eight assists.

"It's another game where one of the better point guards has gotten the better of us," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "That's happened often this year and that's not all on Brandon. It's on our defense and it's on the guy that's guarding him."

Jennings made back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 91 seconds to cut Boston's lead to 98-93 with 1:19 left. Milwaukee got within two points on Ilyasova's put-back layup, but Garnett sank four free throws in the final 15 seconds to clinch it.

The Bucks travel to Atlanta and Orlando on Friday and Saturday.

"We have to get it done," Gooden said. "You know, it's funny. We never get blown out. We fight to the end, and it just kind of (upsets) us that we come up short every time, almost."

Rondo had six rebounds and five assists in the third quarter, when the Celtics went on a 20-4 run to turn a five-point deficit into a double-digit lead. Boston led by 17 in the fourth quarter and had a 98-83 edge with 3 minutes left when the Bucks scored 10 straight points, including a pair of 3-pointers by Jennings 12 seconds apart.

Skiles said Jennings seemed as though he didn't want to take shots.

"That's part of the growing process for me," Jennings said. "Right now my teammates are making shots. ... I just felt like I didn't have to do so much because my teammates were making so many shots."

Ilyasova hit a putback that cut it to 98-96 before Garnett sank a pair of free throws with 14.4 seconds left. The Celtics gave Jennings a layup but he missed it, and he also missed a 3-point attempt before Garnett grabbed the rebound and went back to the foul line for two more free throws.

Chris Wilcox came off the bench to grab 13 rebounds in 26 minutes for Boston.

Brandon Bass, making his second consecutive start because of Jermaine O'Neal's wrist injury, scored 16 points with seven rebounds for Boston. Milwaukee led 60-55 with 8:34 left in the third quarter when the Celtics scored the next 12 points and 20 out of 24 to open an 11-point lead.

Both teams were playing for the second consecutive night following the All-Star break.

Boston beat Cleveland, then the ninth-place team in the East, on Tuesday to hold onto eighth place in the East. The Bucks were coming off a 119-118 victory over the Washington Wizards earned when Ilyasova tipped in Jennings' miss with 2.2 seconds left.

Ilyasova had 10 points in the first quarter and Rondo had eight, when the teams finished tied 25-all. The Bucks took the lead with Larry Sanders' tip-in on the first possession of the second quarter and led for the rest of the half, but Boston cut a nine-point deficit to four just before the break when Rondo drove for a layup and then Ray Allen stole the ensuing inbounds pass to set up Keyon Dooling's 3-pointer with 0.9 seconds left.

Notes: Garnett and Sanders exchanged words, drawing a double technical foul with 6:23 left in the second quarter. ... Gooden had 16 points and six assists and Jennings had seven assists at halftime. ... O'Neal missed his third straight game with a sprained left wrist. ... Mike Dunleavy picked up a technical foul complaining after he was beaten for a rebound by Rondo down the stretch. ... It was Rondo's 16th career triple-double, and his 10th in the regular season.

Notebook: Celtics 102, Bucks 96

Posted Wednesday February 29, 2012 11:34PM

By Brian Robb, for NBA.com

THE FACTS: Rajon Rondo had his third triple-double of the season, as the Boston Celtics held off a furious late comeback by the Milwaukee Bucks for a 102-96 win at TD Garden. Kevin Garnett added a game-high 25 points for the hosts, who seemingly had the came in hand up 15 points with less than three minutes remaining before Milwaukee mounted a late charge. The visitors closed the gap to two with 24 seconds remaining thanks to a 11-0 run but the Celtics were able to hit their free throws down the stretch to clinch their second straight win and get back to the .500 mark. Ersan Ilyasova had a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Bucks, as they dropped 3 ½ games below the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference.

QUOTABLE: "I thought we did a great job in the second half adjusting with our defense. I thought we rebounded the ball a lot better and we kept our turnovers down which was one of the biggest issues we've had all season and I think we did a pretty good job of that tonight."
-- Paul Pierce

THE STAT: After the Bucks scored at will over the first 24 minutes, Boston's defense clamped down in the third quarter, holding Milwaukee to just 13 points on 5-for-22 shooting in the frame, helping the C's overturn a seven-point halftime deficit.

TURNING POINT: The Celtics erupted offensively over a 6:40 stretch during the third quarter, outscoring the Bucks 23-6 over the stretch behind nine points from Brandon Bass to turn the tide and build a 13-point lead.

QUOTABLE II: "I'm just glad we're back to .500. And we've won the first two after the break and both games were grind games. Our guys are buying into that."
-- Boston coach Doc Rivers

HOT: Garnett -- The 35-year-old power forward did the majority of his damage over the final 12 minutes, scoring 11 of his game-high 25 points in the fourth quarter.

NOT: Carlos Delfino -- After a strong first halfm (eight points) the sharpshooting small forward failed to find the bottom of the net in the second half. Delfino went scoreless in his 16 minutes after the break, while missing all six of his field-goal attempts.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Chris Wilcox -- The veteran center could provide a lift to fantasy teams seeking a boost in the rebounding department. Wilcox corralled 13 rebounds to go along with seven points in 26 energetic minutes off the Boston bench. Since returning from a hip injury, Wilcox has averaged 12.3 rebounds in his last two games.

ROOKIE WATCH: Jon Leuer -- The second-round pick made the most of his brief stint in the first half, tallying four points and three rebounds in just five minutes of action.

NOTABLE: Luc Mbah a Moute did not play due to a left shoulder injury for Milwaukee. Jermaine O'Neal missed his third straight game with a sprained left wrist. O'Neal saw a hand specialist Wednesday to help treat the injury, and remains day-to-day. All five Boston starters scored in double figures. The triple-double was the 16th of Rondo's career. Boston led by as many as 17 points. Mike Dunleavy Jr. was whistled for a technical foul with 3:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. Garnett and Larry Sanders also were whistled for double technicals in the second quarter. The Bucks shot just 34 percent in the second half. It was the first time all season Boston scored over 100 points at home.

UP NEXT: For the Bucks, Friday @ Atlanta, Saturday @ Orlando, Monday vs. Philadelphia. For the Celtics, Friday vs. New Jersey, Sunday vs. New York, Tuesday vs. Houston.

• Bucks: Bogut
• Celtics: Moore, O'Neal

• Bucks: Dunleavy, Sanders
• Celtics: Garnett

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: TD Garden, Boston, MA
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #30 John Goble, #61 Courtney Kirkland
• Attendance: 18624
• Duration: 2:13