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May 9 (UPI) -- Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens and his team had their season come to an end after a 116-91 dismantling at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Stevens pointed at himself as the reason for the team's failures following the loss Wednesday night.
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"I'll be the first to say that this, as far as any other year I've been a head coach, it's certainly been the most trying," Stevens told reporters. "I think I've done ... I did a bad job. At the end of the day, as a coach, if your team doesn't find its best fit together, that's on you.
"So, I'll do a lot of deep dives into how to be better."
The Celtics shot 31.2 percent from the field, including 7-of-39 from 3-point territory, in their series-deciding loss. Boston star point guard Kyrie Irving continued his postseason struggles with a 6-for-21 shooting performance in Game 5. In Boston's four consecutive losses, he converted 25-of-81 shot attempts.
"I mean, truth be told, it's no time to be disappointed," Irving told reporters. "I think that you take your lessons, you take your [expletive]-whooping that they handed us, and you move on.
"It's a basketball journey. Obviously, you want to keep playing, but they put a halt to that, and they deserve the series. They played like they wanted it."
The Celtics' focus shifts to the off-season after their elimination from the NBA playoffs. Several players, including Irving, Al Horford, Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes, could become unrestricted free agents in the summer. Backup point guard Terry Rozier is set to become a restricted free agent.
Milwaukee advances to play the winner of the Philadelphia 76ers-Toronto Raptors series. The Raptors currently hold a 3-2 series lead.
