Milwaukee Bucks settle for .500, playoffs after loss to Boston
By Phil Watson
It was a night like many final nights in the regular season for teams that had already locked in playoff positions.
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The Milwaukee Bucks were going to be the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference regardless of the outcome of Wednesday night’s game against the Boston Celtics, who were going to be the seventh seed with a win or a loss.
As is often the case in a “meaningless” game No. 82, seldom-used Luigi Datome scored a career-high 22 points in his first NBA start to lead the Celtics to a 105-100 win over the Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center Wednesday night.
The Bucks (41-41) ended the season with a 26-game improvement over last year’s 15-67 record, while the Celtics (40-42)—who won their sixth straight game to end the season—saw a 15-game uptick.
The game was close throughout—neither side led by double digits and the contest saw 11 lead changes and 11 ties.
But Datome scored 12 points in the fourth quarter and Kelly Olynyk added 10 as the Celtics held on for the win.
None of Milwaukee’s starters played the fourth quarter, however, while Jerryd Bayless sat out with a sore neck and veteran Jared Dudley was rested due to a sore back.
O.J. Mayo helped keep the Bucks in it in the fourth, scoring 12 points, while Tyler Ennis had seven assists in the final 12 minutes.
The Bucks took their final lead of the night on Ennis’ layup with 10:21 to play. Boston held off a late charge to get the win, with Datome scoring their final five points.
Apr 15, 2015; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Boston Celtics forward Luigi Datome (70) drives for the basket against Milwaukee Bucks center Miles Plumlee (21) in the fourth quarter at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
After Mayo completed a 3-point play that cut Boston’s led to 100-97 with 2:38 remaining, Datome canned a big 3-pointer to push the lead back out to six and then converted a layup with 1:28 to go that iced it.
Ersan Ilyasova, who led the Bucks with 21 points, said the finish was disappointing.
“Obviously, it’s not the way we wanted to finish the season, but it is what it is,” Ilyasova told The Associated Press. “They came out with a lot (more) energy than we did to win the game.”
The Bucks had their three-game winning streak halted and finished April with a 5-3 mark.
“I think it’s a great start for our foundation, for this young group,” coach Jason Kidd said. “Understanding what it takes to win. Only 16 teams make the playoffs now and we’re one of them.”
Owners Marc Lasry and Jamie Dinan handed out T-shirts to fans at the entrances of the arena as thank you gifts and former owner Herb Kohl was at the game as Milwaukee finished with its best record since going 46-36 in 2009-10.
Khris Middleton scored 18 points for the Bucks in 21 minutes, while Mayo finished with 16 points and Ennis went for 11 points and eight assists. Johnny O’Bryant led Milwaukee with nine rebounds in 22 minutes, but was just 1-for-7 from the floor and scored two points.
Miles Plumlee logged 21 minutes and went for nine points and had three steals. John Henson blocked two shots in his 12 minutes.
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Datome, meanwhile, shattered his previous career high of 13 points, set twice—most recently on March 9 against the Miami Heat.
Datome was 9-for-15 overall and 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko had 16 points each for Boston, with Jerebko also grabbing six rebounds, and Jared Sullinger finished with 11 points and three blocks.
Phil Pressey—son of former Bucks star Paul Pressey—had seven assists to go with five points, while Evan Turner and Marcus Smart each had six dimes. Boston had 37 assists on 42 made field goals, while the Bucks assisted on 35 of their 41 buckets.
Both teams will open the playoffs on the road this weekend. The Celtics play the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round.
The Bucks visit the third-seeded Chicago Bulls for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday, with a 6 p.m. tipoff. Chicago won three of four regular-season meetings with Milwaukee, including a 95-87 win at the United Center on Jan. 10 and an 87-71 victory there on Feb. 23.