MILWAUKEE — It had been five days since the Milwaukee Bucks last suited up for a game. They spent much of last week talking about how they hoped this break created by the NBA Cup could be a reset for them after losing 10 of their last 13 games.
But through the first seven minutes, Thursday’s game against the Boston Celtics looked a lot like the previous 13. Their young point guards, Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins, had committed two turnovers apiece, and each picked up a personal foul. The Celtics built an early double-digit lead, and it looked like the Bucks were on their way to another loss.
But then Bobby Portis entered the game and reminded his teammates what they were supposed to do. He started with a rebound and a putback on his first offensive possession.
Portis scored two more times in the next three possessions, and his immediate energy off the bench helped the Bucks get back into the game.
“We worked our tails off the last couple days. Doc (Rivers) and his staff (have) been on us (about) just playing harder and bringing more energy to the game,” Portis said after the Bucks’ 116-101 win over the Celtics. “I feel like if we would have just gave a little more effort and energy over the first 25 games, maybe our record would be different, right?”
After Portis’ entrance, Milwaukee’s effort and energy never wavered against a Celtics team that entered Thursday as a winner in 10 of its last 12 games. Portis’ performance never wavered, as the Bucks’ longtime sixth man didn’t miss a shot until his eighth attempt with just three minutes remaining in the third quarter on his way to a season-high 27 points (11-of-13 shooting) and 13 rebounds.
While Portis might have been first to bring the effort needed to flip the game, he did not do it alone. Kyle Kuzma made 13 of 17 from the field and scored a season-high 31 points — his first 30-point effort as a member of the Bucks — and grabbed six rebounds. Porter used the threat of his scoring to create for his teammates on his way to his fourth career triple-double: 18 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists.
The Bucks (11-15) were unable to take a lead in the first half, but Kuzma’s ability to consistently get downhill during his second stint on the floor kept Milwaukee in the game heading into halftime.
“Listen, he’s bought into his shot profile. He really has,” Rivers said. “He avoids the in-between jump shot. We want corner 3s from him. We want him to attack the basket. And if he doesn’t have a layup, spray it out. He did all those things (Thursday).”
With 7-footer Neemias Queta covering him, Kuzma needed to play with significant force to move the Celtics big man. Once he drove through and around Queta a few times, the Bucks’ 6-foot-8 forward found the aggression needed to consistently get to the rim and punish the Celtics for switching smaller players onto him.
While Portis and Kuzma kept their team in contention in the first half, the Bucks were unable to flip the game until the second half when they started to consistently get stops on the defensive end.
The Celtics scored 13 points in the third quarter, the fewest scored in a single quarter by any Bucks opponent this season, and just the sixth time Milwaukee managed to limit a team to 20 or fewer points in a quarter this season. Boston missed all 13 3-pointers attempted in the third quarter and made just three of the 26 attempted in the second half.
“There were a few make-miss, but most of the time, they were contested 3s,” Rivers said. “That’s what we planned for. They take more break 3s than any other team. They don’t actually take a lot of corner 3s, which is unusual.
“A lot of that is because they ISO; then, you help and they spray it out, and we drilled it for two days. But as that ball (goes out), you have to arrive on the pass. That’s all we talked about. You have to arrive on the pass and run them off the shot, and I thought our guys did that.”
Through regular switching and strong fight on the ball, the Bucks managed to bog down Boston’s off-the-bounce attack. Some of that could have been a product of the Celtics falling into some of their bad habits, but Milwaukee got the results it needed on defense to build a lead in the third quarter.
In the second half, the Bucks put the ball in Porter’s hands. While he is best known for his scoring ability, Porter regularly made the smart play by drawing attention from Celtics defenders and then finding one of the two guys on his team who couldn’t miss Thursday night.
“I mean, he can do that every night,” Kuzma said of Porter’s 13-assist night. “He’s so talented. He could score 30, or he could pass the ball for 13 assists, and we need that. We don’t need him to try to go 30 and dribble all night.
“He can do that, but when he’s getting into the paint, he’s dishing, everybody can touch the ball. Then, the defense picks up because everybody’s touching the ball. You feel a part of it.”
In the end, the trio of Portis, Kuzma and Porter carried the Bucks to a much-needed win. With rumors about an injured Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future continuing to swirl, his teammates earned a victory as the superstar forward enjoyed his team’s fight and competitiveness from the bench.
But while there was much jubilation and celebration the last time the Bucks won in come-from-behind fashion over the Detroit Pistons, that same excitement did not fill the Bucks’ locker room after Thursday’s win. The Bucks took a much different tone.
“We gotta do it again,” Kuzma said. “This all does not mean anything if we come out soft (the next game). If we come out not playing hard, then we’re two steps back. … Be aggressive, both ends.”
To Kuzma’s point, the Bucks haven’t won two games in a row since October. On Sunday, the Bucks will get that chance when they head to New York to play the Brooklyn Nets, who have won only six games but went into the NBA Cup break winning three of their last four. Winning games without Antetokounmpo has not been easy for the Bucks this season, but Sunday provides a prime opportunity to change that pattern and take another step toward turning their season around.