After a clutch victory on the road at Detroit over the weekend, the Celtics (4-0) were back at TD Garden on Monday night for a matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks (1-3). Holding a perfect 3-0 record to start the season, the Celtics had five scorers in double figures and overcame a slow start with a scoring avalanche in the second half for a 119-108 win.
The Celtics were without Sam Hauser for a third consecutive game, while the Bucks, playing on the tail-end of a back-to-back, missed starting forward Khris Middleton for a fourth straight contest. In Middleton’s absence, Milwaukee turned to Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince on the wings to complement Damian Lillard in the backcourt and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez in the frontcourt.
Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard led the way for the Celtics, with Brown scoring 30 on 10-of-19 shooting and Pritchard adding 28 on 8-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. Next to them were solid performances from Jrue Holiday (21 points on 7/12 shooting) and Derrick White (13 points, 8 assists). For the Bucks, their star duo of Dame and Giannis led the way, scoring a combined 66 points. Pritchard had a record-setting performance from three, tying Eddie House for the most 3-point field goals off the bench since 2009.
Averaging 39 points in the first quarter entering their fourth contest of the season, the Celtics started out slow, missing their first seven shots before a Derrick White layup broke the drought. White then hit Boston’s first 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, and ended up scoring the team’s first seven points of the game.
From there, more successful offensive possessions started to follow, with Jayson Tatum aggressively getting to the rim for eight points and Payton Pritchard coming off the bench to add another quick eight of his own.
Still, it was the lowest scoring first quarter of the season for the Celtics, but the Bucks fared only slightly better, shooting 48% from the field with a combined 22 points between Lillard and Antetokounmpo to take a 29-28 lead after a buzzer-beating three from Trent Jr.
Pritchard continued to boost the offense, taking over in the early minutes of the second quarter by scoring 11 straight points with three 3-pointers, one a 34-footer off the catch on an assist from White and another from 25 feet out after Brown grabbed a rebound off his own miss. The Celtics also got 7 points from Brown in the quarter, who connected on three of his four attempts from the free throw line.
The Bucks maintained their slight edge into halftime with a 56-53 score, led by Dame’s 16 first half points (4/9 FG), seven of which came in the second quarter.
Outside of Pritchard’s hot shooting, the Celtics were just 3-of-18 from beyond the arc in the first half, while coughing up seven turnovers.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Celtics looked more like themselves on both ends, hitting four of their first six shots, two coming in the mid-range from Brown and another a pick-and-pop triple from Tatum, to give the Celtics a 65-61 lead and a 12-5 advantage in the quarter’s first three minutes.
The Bucks responded right back with a 14-5 run of their own, but Jrue Holiday was quick to level the score, earning himself an uncontested layup and a pullup 3-pointer to tie the game at 75-75. Then, Brown took over, getting a go-ahead layup from the right side of the cup and going to that same spot the next possession, getting a step on Prince with a hesitation move to drive through Bobby Portis for a 79-75 lead.
The Bucks answered right back with five straight points to retake the lead, one of which was a technical free throw after an incorrect shot clock violation on a Holiday layup drew the ire of Joe Mazzulla. The Celtics responded with their best stretch to that point, when White buried a 3-pointer in the face of Giannis, then another three at the top of the arc, and finally blocking a Giannis layup all in one quick sequence.
With the game clock winding down, Pritchard buried yet another three as time expired, lifting Boston to a 90-82 lead entering the final 12 minutes.
The hot shooting carried over in the fourth quarter, with Brown opening with a layup and an assist in the corner to Pritchard for his seventh three of the night. Another fall away jumper from Brown gave the Celtics a 15-point lead and a 25-7 run, but the Bucks continued to keep themselves in the game, drawing their deficit to within eight with under eight minutes to play.
They wouldn’t get any closer than that, and the Celtics closed the book on any potential comeback, forcing Doc Rivers to clear out the bench with just over two minutes left in the game.
Coming up later this week for Boston is an Eastern Conference Finals rematch on Wednesday with the Indiana Pacers in primetime at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, which starts at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
