Celtics collapse down stretch, suffer shocking Game 5 loss to Bucks

May 12—BOSTON — There's no way around it: this was a bad, bad loss for the Boston Celtics.

Unfortunate as it is to say, they deserved the outcome, shocking as it may have been.

For three-plus quarters the Celtics were quite visibly the better team against the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series. Great ball movement, intelligent shots, stifling defense ... but for whatever reason, that all disappeared in the fourth.

Boston was outscored in the final quarter 33-21. Five of their 10 turnovers came in the last 12 minutes, the biggest of which happened in the final seconds.

With his team down one, Marcus Smart drove to the hoop off what appeared to be a set play drawn up by head coach Ime Udoka. Smart got downhill and attacked Jrue Holiday, who blocked his shot at the rim, grabbed the ball and threw it off of Smart out of bounds.

Whether or not the first option was for Smart to shoot it, it was a tough, contested drive that felt a bit forced — especially in a must-make situation.

After a pair of free throws from former St. John's Prep star Pat Connaughton gave the Bucks a 3-point lead, Holiday then jumped the passing lane and swiped the game-clinching steal as time expired.

The series isn't over, but this was a game the Celtics desperately needed to have — and should have — won.

"You still have an opportunity. It's not a series-ending loss," a distraught Udoka said following the 110-107 setback. "We had a golden opportunity; that's the story here. It's going to be tougher now, you have to go get two in a row. We just have to go into Milwaukee, take it one game at a time and try to bring it back here."

What more can Udoka say?

As painful as it was for fans, it had to be even more so for the team's head coach. He had watched them do so many great things en route to multiple double-digit leads Wednesday night, including a 14-point advantage early in the fourth.

Then like the rest of us, he watched that all go for naught as the Celtics reverted back to some old bad habits in crunch time.

Time and time again during the final frame the Celtics lackadaisically dribbled down the shot clock and were forced into a difficult, one-on-one situation to bail them out. Sure, Jayson Tatum (34 points) and Jaylen Brown (26 points) got some big jumpers to fall late, but Boston shouldn't be settling for that type of hero-ball production.

Defensively, they struggled to secure timely rebounds down the stretch, leading to key second chance opportunities for Milwaukee.

When the Celtics are at their best, they're a more complete team than the Bucks (at least with Khris Middleton out of the picture). During their good stretches, everyone was playing their role and playing it well. Even guys like Daniel Theis (11 points on 5-for-5 shooting) and Derrick White (9 points, 6 assists) stepped up in a big way.

But Boston, in front of a fired-up home crowd, seemed to get too comfortable, too sluggish with too much time left on the clock.

This is playoff basketball. Every possession matters.

As the reigning NBA champs, the Bucks are not going to lay down and let you have it. Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who dropped another 40 points, certainly isn't going to give it to you.

You have to earn it for 48 minutes, and Boston learned that the hard way Wednesday night.

Milwaukee hit some massive shots from beyond the arc late. But it was the home team that put themselves in position for the Bucks to pounce.

This loss falls on the players. It falls on Tatum, Brown and Smart, all of whom did some tremendous things prior to the collapse.

Boston has been so great over the past few months because of their team-first mentality, commitment to defense and full game efforts. That all fell apart late Wednesday evening.

Now trailing the best-of-7 series 3 games to 2 and headed back on the road, it's gut check time for the Green.

Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.

Contact Nick Giannino at NGiannino@Salemnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGiannino_SN.