After a frenetic first half, the Celtics settled down and played their kind of game in a 100-91 win over the Bucks in Milwaukee. The win guaranteed the Celtics would at least finish with a .500 record on their eight-game road trip.
It also put some distance between them and the Bucks who are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference and left them a half game behind Philadelphia for first place in the Atlantic Division. They finish their trip in Philly on Friday night.
The Celtics broke open a close game in the fourth quarter and it was the unit of Avery Bradley, Greg Stiemsma and Keyon Dooling -- along with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett -- that got the job done. Defensively, the Bucks scored just 33 points in the second half. Dooling made all four of his shots and Stiemsma finished with six points, four rebounds, three assists, four steals and five blocks. Mickael Pietrus added 13 points.
Pierce led the scoring with 25 points and passed Clyde Drexler for 26th on the NBA's all-time scoring lost. Three players had double doubles led by Garnett who added 16 points and 10 rebounds, Brandon Bass had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Rajon Rondo had 14 assists to go with 10 points.
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[2] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/celtics