Throughout the regular season, the Boston Celtics have created a great deal of history. But against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night, they made it for all the wrong reasons. In Wisconsin, the Celtics lost 104-91 and made no free throw attempts. According to StatMuse, they are the only team in NBA history to make zero free throws on zero tries.
Jayson Tatum was astonished by how his team created a new chapter in the history of the NBA.
He shook his head and replied, “Another day in the NBA,” as reported by Jared Weiss of The Athletic.
The winning Bucks only made one free throw on two attempts from the charity stripe, so the absurdity doesn’t stop there. According to StatMuse, the Bucks and Celtics combined for just two free throws is the fewest in league history. Throughout the course of the game, Milwaukee committed four fouls. According to Basketball Reference, this is also the fewest in NBA history.
In the third quarter at Fiserv Forum, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown (7) steals a pass from Milwaukee Bucks center Brook Lopez (11).
NBC Sports’ Benny Sieu In most cases, the Celtics shouldn’t be alarmed if they score less than 100 points and don’t make any free throws. With 14 games remaining in the Eastern Conference standings, they lead the second-place Bucks by 14 games with an overall record of 62-17.
This was primetime, yet the Green Team had little to gain from the match. The C’s were practically playing for nothing because they already had the best overall record locked up. Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, two center players, did not play more than forty minutes.
Despite the minimal stakes, Jaylen Brown and Tatum did end up playing, but it’s important to keep in mind the NBA’s new Player Participation Policy. No team is permitted to be without more than one star this season, and Tatum and Brown meet this requirement due to their designation as 2024 All-Stars. Unless they are badly injured, stars are expected to participate in national televised games as well. Therefore, Boston’s dynamic combo could not rest against Milwaukee unless the C’s wanted to pay a huge fine.
Conversely, the Bucks were desperate going into their matchup on Tuesday night. They have endured humiliating losses to clubs like the Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies, and Washington Wizards, who are far out of the postseason picture, and had lost six of their previous seven games. Milwaukee’s grip on the second seed in the East grew somewhat less certain as a result of their losing run.
The Bucks played a gutsy first quarter, scoring 37 points while limiting the potent Celtics offense to just 21. They looked like a team with something to prove. Boston would then gradually cut into the lead, but they would never get close enough to make it exciting.