The first two months of the season, the Boston Celtics struggled to hold onto leads. They appeared to rectify that as the season progressed, helping them earn the no. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. Well, that same old issue reared its head again in Game 5 Wednesday.
The Celtics held a 13-point lead a few minutes into the fourth quarter. Yet, the Bucks stormed back and took a one-point lead with 11 seconds remaining. Boston had possession in the front court, trailing 108-107. Marcus Smart took the inbounds pass, waited a second and went to the rim. The Celtics guard was rejected by Jrue Holiday, who also snagged the rebound and tossed it off Smart out of bounds.
Boston went on to lose the game 110-107. Afterward, Smart talked about that play.
Marcus Smart mentioned that the play coming out of the timeout was for the ball to go to Jayson Tatum.
“Everyone was standing around. They were getting close on the five-second count and we had no timeouts. Jrue made a great play,” Smart said.
After Pat Connaughton sank two free throws to make the score 110-107, Boston still had one last chance. Smart took the inbounds pass from under his basket and Holiday then stole the ball from him and ran out the clock.
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It was an epic meltdown by the Celtics. Boston is now facing elimination heading to Milwaukee for Game 6. The final couple minutes should not be piled on Smart's shoulders. There were a number of breakdowns, including the game-winning put-back by Bobby Portis on a missed free throw.
The Bucks won most of the loose balls. They crashed the glass all game. If you leave the defending champions a window to steal your heart, guess what they'll do.