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Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving was a no-show in their Game 2 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. In fact, he tallied the second-lowest scoring night in his playoff career.
In their 123-102 loss, Irving had nine points on 22.2 percent (4-of-18) shooting from the field and 20 percent from downtown. Per Ben Golliver, his lowest scoring tally came in their 2015 series against the Chicago Bulls where he scored just six points.
Game 2 against the Bucks also marked the second time he scored in single digits in the postseason.
Celtics' Kyrie Irving scores 9 points in 31 minutes in Game 2 loss to Bucks, marking 2nd lowest point total of his 58-game postseason career.
– Lowest: 6 points for 2015 Cavaliers vs. Bulls (only played 12 minutes)
– His 4-18 shooting was 3rd worst of his postseason career. pic.twitter.com/E3aCYWbfcS— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 1, 2019
Kyrie Irving was stopped by Eric Bledsoe's strong individual defense. The Bucks, too, applied team defense whenever Irving had intentions of driving to the hoop.
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After the game, Irving shared his thoughts on the Bucks' stifling defense. From his observation, the Giannis antetokounmpo-led squad sent as much as three defenders to guard him.
Kyrie Irving on what happened tonight: “Some shots are gonna go in, some shots aren’t.” Said the Bucks were sending three defenders and he needs to do a better job of making reads.
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 1, 2019
From the looks of it, the Bucks have figured out how to stop the Celtics. Apart from finding out a way to score against Boston's great defense, they discovered the best strategy to contain and make life hard for Irving — one of the best guards in the NBA.
However, given Irving's significant playoff experience, the Bucks should expect him to bounce back in Game 3.
