National Basketball Association
Boston 102, Milwaukee 96
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials:
#30 John Goble, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #22 Bill Spooner
Attendance:
18624
By SportsDirect Inc.
CELTICS 102, BUCKS 96: Kevin Garnett led all five starters in double figures with 24 points and 10 rebounds as host Boston pulled back to .500 and dealt a blow to Milwaukee’s playoff chances.
Rajon Rondo recorded a triple-double with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Celtics (17-17), who have beaten the two teams chasing them for the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference on back-to-back nights.
Boston led by 15 points with 2:56 left in the game when it pulled the starters and Milwaukee made things interesting. A 13-0 run cut it to a one possession game but Garnett came back into the contest and hit four free throws over the final 14.4 seconds to seal it.
The Bucks (14-21) remain in 10th place in the East.
The Celtics trailed at the half on Wednesday before taking over with 8:55 left in the third, when Brandon Bass’ three-point play kicked off a 25-6 run.
Chris Wilcox had the highlight of the burst with a driving dunk and Ray Allen got into the act with a behind-the-back dribble in the lane that shed the defense and led to a layup.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Milwaukee leading scorer Brandon Jennings did not score until the final burst at the end of the game and finished with six points on 2-for-11 shooting … Ersan Ilyasova led the Bucks with 25 points and 10 rebounds … Boston, which ranks last in the NBA in rebounding, got the better of the boards on Wednesday, 52-49.
Top Game Performances
Milwaukee |
|
Boston |
Ersan Ilyasova 25 |
Scoring |
Kevin Garnett 25 |
Brandon Jennings 8 |
Assists |
Rajon Rondo 10 |
Ersan Ilyasova 10 |
Rebounds |
Chris Wilcox 13 |
Drew Gooden 9 |
Free Throws Made |
Kevin Garnett 7 |
Carlos Delfino 2 |
Steals |
Kevin Garnett 2 |
Carlos Delfino 1 |
Blocks |
Kevin Garnett 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Milwaukee
|
96 |
40.6 |
4-15 |
14-16 |
25 |
49 |
4 |
5 |
13 |
Boston
|
102 |
46.0 |
3-16 |
19-28 |
26 |
52 |
5 |
5 |
14 |
Upcoming Games
-
Boston will play their next game at home against New Jersey. The Celtics have a W/L % of .647 after a win and .353 after a loss.
-
Milwaukee will play their next game on the road against Atlanta. The Bucks have a W/L % of .429 after a win and .381 after a loss.