Celtics tumble late: Fail to seal the deal in loss to Bucks

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Celtics tumble late: Fail to seal the deal in loss to Bucks
By Mark Murphy
Sunday, November 30, 2003

MILWAUKEE - Nowhere does the season come to bear more than on the tail end of
back-to-back games against the same opponent.

     That grind, plus some inopportune unraveling in the fourth quarter, laid
out the Celtics last night in a 100-94 loss to the Bucks.

     It was the first game this season in which the C's have allowed 100 or
more points. As usual, the late-game collapse can be traced to not taking care
of business on the defensive end of the floor.

     ``It's just our defense,'' Paul Pierce [news] said. ``It'll be our
defense all year long. We need to stop teams at crucial moments. When we do
that, we'll be able to close teams out.''

     Pierce's frustration is understandable. The Celtics, who beat the Bucks
on Friday, used a 19-0 run to climb out of a 15-point hole in the first half,
held the lead throughout the third quarter, then started to get picked apart.

     The Bucks used the combined forces of Michael Redd (23 points), Toni
Kukoc (13 off the bench) and former Celtics guard Erick Strickland (11 points,
four assists) in the final frame to pull out the win.

     Even at the end, the Celtics had a solid chance when, trailing by three
at 96-93, Pierce up-faked Joe Smith from downtown and drew the three-shot
foul.

     ``I was sick,'' Strickland said of watching his former teammate walk to
the line with a chance to tie the game with 12 seconds left. ``He usually
makes those, but we also had 12 seconds to attack the basket if we had to.''

     The Bucks ended up using the 12 seconds to kill the clock.

     Pierce, one of the finest free throw shooters in the league, inexplicably
missed the first two before making the third.

     Pierce later shook his head and said: ``I just missed them.''

     The Celtics fouled Smith, who hit two free throws with 11 seconds left,
and the visitors' hopes expired when Vin Baker missed a desperation 3-pointer.

     Pierce certainly was affected by the grind of the home-and-home series.
He injured his right shoulder in the second quarter Friday but played the rest
of the game, then was forced to sit much of the second half last night with a
jammed left thumb. It didn't matter much, however, because the Bucks simply
were too good late in the game.

     Even Mike James [news]' career night was not enough. The veteran guard
made seven 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 23 points, but the Bucks
strung together too many shots in the fourth.

     They took the lead for good on a Redd 3-pointer with 3:24 left, and
proceeded to outscore the Celtics, 16-9, the rest of the way. James hit a pair
of treys during that stretch, and Pierce drained a 20-foot prayer.

     The Bucks, who shot 50 percent in the fourth quarter, simply found too
many openings, and too much of a groove, to be denied.

     ``I wish I knew,'' Pierce said of finding a way to close out opponents.
``But I can't go into the locker room and read everyone's mind. Everyone can
dwell on it, but it's just about doing what has to be done. . . . It's
frustrating when you have the game in hand, and all you need is a couple of
stops.''
Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx