Bucks need same boost from role players as series shifts back to Boston for Game 5

Having home court doesn't always translate to much of an advantage. Just ask the Portland Trail Blazers, which earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference only to be swept out of the NBA playoffs.

But in the series between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, which heads to Game 5 at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Boston's TD Garden, being at home has made a notable difference. Each team is undefeated on its home court, with the Celtics claiming Games 1 and 2 before the Bucks evened the series this past weekend with a couple wins at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

As the venues have changed, so have the contributions from each team's role players.

While it's something of a cliché that role players are expected to perform better at home than on the road, Milwaukee's bench was especially punchless in Boston. Eight players combined for just 48 points in a combined 135 minutes over the two games.

Malcolm Brogdon had 26 of those points, leading the bench in minutes before moving into the starting lineup for Games 3 and 4.

Jabari Parker barely registered in those games, logging 25 minutes while scoring two points and putting forth an uninspired effort.

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Matthew Dellavedova and Thon Maker did even less, sitting out all of Game 1 before seeing the court sparingly in Game 2, with Dellavedova logging 4 ½ minutes and Maker coming in for a minute of garbage time.

For those three and Tony Snell, who moved to the bench as Brogdon shifted to the starting lineup, everything changed at the Bradley Center. They buttressed the efforts of the starters and at times stole the spotlight in Games 3 and 4.

Maker was a fireball of energy from the moment he checked into each game, blocking five shots in each contest while scoring 22 points in the two games. Dellavedova got early, consistent action in both games and helped keep Boston point guard Terry Rozier off balance, picking him up full court and pestering him into tough shots and turnovers.

Parker, too, turned things around in a major way. He locked up on defense and was more disruptive than ever at that end while also providing a scoring spark with 33 points over the two games. Snell settled into his new, reduced role well, going 3 of 5 on three-pointers at the Bradley Center after opening the series 0 of 3 on the road.

As a team, the Bucks collected 50 bench points in Game 3, outdoing their combined total for Games 1 and 2 (48). At the home, Milwaukee's reserves outscored Boston's, 81-49, flipping the script from how things went at TD Garden.

"(Maker) and Delly are playing very good," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. "I thought our bench was very good, I thought Jabari came in and had another good game. Tony as well, I like the shots he's taking (even if) he didn't take a lot."

With the series shifting back to Boston, the Bucks need to find a way to take their newly-found energy off the bench with them. Hustle plays and clutch shots translate to crowd noise and emotional boosts at home, but the crowd response will be much different in Boston.

"Just embrace each other and try to make our own noise, try to make our own environment because it’s going to be 20,000 people against us," Parker said.

Brogdon echoed that sentiment: "Going back to Boston, I think we’ve got to be able to bring it out ourselves and not rely on anybody else. I think that will be the key.”

Sunday's victory ensured that the Bucks will come home and play in front of the Bradley Center crowd at least one more time, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday at a time to be determined.

Whether the Bucks are facing elimination or will be on the brink of their first series win since 2001 could very well come down to their ability to carry the success of their role players with them to Boston.

“We have all the confidence in the world in those guys to make big plays, make good shots and to defend and play at a high level like they did here," said Bucks forward Khris Middleton. "We’re going to need those guys.

"Without those guys, we’re not going to win these games.”