Appreciate the comments, COOLmac & {Sac-1}...and now for Game 2!
NBA PLAYOFFS: ROUND 1, GAME 2: Boston Celtics @ Milwaukee Bucks
BOS 107, MIL 101 (O.T.)
Bucks Suffer Heartbreaker Loss in OT- Let 2-0 Series Lead Slip From Their Grasp, Series Now Tied 1-1
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN- Game 1 of this Round 1 playoff matchup between the #4-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and #5-seeded Boston Celtics was an incredible contest. Game 2 was even better.
After losing the first game by falling apart in the fourth quarter, the Celtics were extremely determined to head back to Boston with the series tied up at 1-1. So they came out firing, hitting 52.6% of their shots in the opening quarter, and forcing the Bucks into committing 5 turnovers. They had no answers for the individual efforts of Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard, however, who combined to score 15 points and carried their team to a 25-23 lead after one quarter was in the books.
As was the case in Game 1, the second quarter saw both teams’ reserves come in and really struggle to score the basketball. Milwaukee shot just 37.5% in the quarter, and Boston was even worse: 10 for 31 FGs, 32.3%. It was yet again thanks to the fantastic play of Wade that the Bucks led 47-44 at the break. In just 2 quarters, “Flash” was looking like he was going to repeat his mind-boggling game 1 performance of 41 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists:
he already had totaled 18 points, 5 boards, and 4 assists. 
Wade really cooled off in the second half, however, and it took other Milwaukee Bucks’ players stepping up for the team to maintain their small and fragile lead. In the third, it was starting PG Beno Udrih. Beno had been quiet for the first 6 quarters of the series, but broke out in a big way by hitting
4 
three-pointers in the 3rd period alone. “
I just ran to the line, and my teammates were finding me,” he later explained. Boston needed a big effort of their own to keep up, and found it in their leader, Paul Pierce. Pierce was simply on fire in the 3rd quarter, lighting up his defender Grant Hill time and time again with 17 to 20 foot jumpers, over and over. He made 7 of his 13 attempts, scoring 15 points in the period. But his the Celtics still trailed 78-73 heading into the fourth quarter, and were on their way to a 0-2 deficit in the series. “
I wasn’t going to let that happen,” Pierce said confidently after the game.
The fourth quarter was a fierce up-and-down battle between two clashing squads giving it their all. Dwight Howard was a monster in the paint, rejecting everything in sight. He had a career-high
9 blocks in the game!
But it was his offense that was clutch late in the game- his 1-handed
thunder dunk tied the game at 90-90 with 1:23 left to play.
On Boston’s next possession, Pierce missed a shot, and then the Bucks found Melvin Ely down low for a score, giving them the 92-90 lead. But Boston’s Ricky Davis swished in a long 2-pointer right in Wade’s face to tie it once again: 92-92, 56.5 seconds left. Grant Hill continued his poor shooting in the game with a miss on the next play, and that was followed by a bricked 3 by Pierce. After that miss, Dwyane Wade found Dwight Howard sprinting out ahead of the pack, and delivered a long pass to him. Howard went up for a dunk and…
BLOCKED! Out of
NOWHERE, Antoine Walker flew in and stuffed Howard’s dunk attempt! The Boston bench just went nuts, while the Bucks fans were stunned. In the final 22.7 seconds that were left, both teams had shots at the basket, but nothing materialized, and the teams were headed to overtime,
STILL tied at 92-92.
Conventional wisdom suggests that the home team has the advantage in overtime because of the energy boost they receive from their home fans, and it looked as if conventional wisdom would be right in the first minute or so of overtime. The Bucks scored the first 6 points, jumping out to a 98-92 lead.
They looked to be in total control, but that was before Paul Pierce and the Celtics decided to take over. They went on a
12-0 run, and Pierce hit 4 straight tough jumpers, seemingly oblivious to the frantic defense of Hill. Pierce raised his point total to 38 points, including 30 after halftime, and the Celtics took a 104-98 lead. The Bucks simply fell apart, and faded late to lose the game, and home court advantage in the series.
It’s now 1-1, and we’re going to Boston. “
I can’t wait,” Dwyane Wade declared.
BUCKS NOTES
Grant Hll had only 13 points in the game, barely shooting 35% (6-for-17). He was frustrated with himself afterwards, and promised a better showing in Game 3, on both sides of the ball. He was Paul Pierce’s defender…Kareem Rush was 0-for-6, and is scoreless in the series so far. He needs start contributing in some way to the team, because he can be a big factor at times with his shooting ability…Dwyane Wade shot 7-for-8 in the first half, but
only 5-for-19 in the second half 
. Bucks Coach Terry Porter was quick to defend him. “
Hey, Dwyane still had 28 points, 9 rebounds, and 12 assists. He was an assist shy of his second triple double in as many games. I’m not worried about him. We just need other guys stepping up right now."
CELTICS NOTES
Antoine Walker is being dominated by Dwight Howard so far in the series. ‘Toine is shooting just 31.2% (16-for-51)
…Paul Pierce is averaging 33 points and 10 rebounds in the first two games…Marcus Banks is averaging 14 apg in 2 games.
GAME STATS
MILWAUKEE
Divac: 6 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 3-7 FGs
Howard: 21 pts, 6 reb, 1 ast, 8-17 FGs
Hill: 13 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 6-17 FGs
Wade: 28 pts, 9 reb, 12 ast, 12-27 FGs
Udrih: 18 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 5-13 FGs
Rush: 0 pts, 0 reb, 0 ast, 0-6 FGs
Traylor: 5 pts, 4 reb, 0 ast, 2-5 FGs
Robinson: 2 pts, 0 reb, 4 ast, 1-3 FGs
Ely: 6 pts, 9 reb, 0 ast, 2-4 FGs
Bowen: 2 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 1-2 FGs
TOTALS: 40-101 FGs (39.6%), 15-15 FTs, 47 REB (14 OFF), 28 AST, 19 FL
BOSTON
Blount: 13 pts, 11 reb, 2 ast, 6-8 FGs
Walker: 16 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast, 7-24 FGs
Pierce: 38 pts, 14 reb, 2 ast, 18-36 FGs
Davis: 21 pts, 8 reb, 0 ast, 8-18 FGs
Banks: 8 pts, 1 reb, 11 ast, 3-8 FGs
Allen: 0 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 0-5 FGs
LaFrentz: 0 pts, 2 reb, 1 ast, 0-3 FGs
Jefferson: 0 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 0-0 FGs
Green: 5 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 2-6 FGs
Perkins: 2 pts, 1 reb, 0 ast, 1-2 FGs
West: 4 pts, 0 reb, 3 ast, 2-4 FGs
TOTALS: 47-114 FGs (41.2%), 10-17 FTs, 55 REB (18 OFF), 25 AST, 9 FL
QUARTER-BY-QUARTER SCORING
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Bucks 25 22 31 14 9---101
Celtics 23 21 29 19 15---107
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Three-point field goals: Milwaukee 6-17 (Udrih 5-11, Hill 1-3, Rush 0-3), Boston 3-12 (Pierce 2-6, Green 1-3, Walker 0-1, Davis 0-1).
Turnovers: Milwaukee 19, Boston 9.
Steals: Milwaukee 8 (3 Tied With 2), Boston 11 (Blount 3, Davis 3).
Blocks: Milwaukee 16 (Howard 9), Boston 9 (3 Tied With 2).
Highlight of the Game
This section has been overlooked a lot lately b/c for some reason
www.gifworks.com is no longer editing my animated .gifs. I have to make them less than 250 kBs to post off of Photobucket, that's why I use it...Anyway, I'm going to have to start posting screenshots I guess instead of the .gifs.
SERIES TIED 1-1
. Thanks for your support, I'll need it in the Playoffs!
Ben Gordon admiring his last 3-pointer
Congradulations to Jason Terry for winning the 3-Point Shootout!
