The Milwaukee Bucks got a much-needed win after four days off, taking down their Eastern Conference rival, the Boston Celtics, 116-101. It’s the first win for the Bucks over the Celtics since the 2023-24
season, the same game Giannis went down with his left soleus injury. Read our full summary of the game here and catch a six-minute audio recap on the Bucks+ podcast, Bucks In Six Minutes, below.
Player Grades
Kevin Porter Jr.
32 minutes, 18 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, 6/10 FG, 5/5 FT, -6
With Kuzma and Portis going off, someone needed to set them up, and that guy ended up being KPJ. When it was all said and done, he picked up his fourth career triple-double en route to the Bucks’ big win.
Grade: A-
Ryan Rollins
26 minutes, 10 points, 7 assists, 2 steals, 5 fouls, 4/10 FG, +10
Give a lot of credit to the Celtics’ defensive duo of Jordan Walsh and Payton Pritchard; they made life tough for both Rollins and KPJ in spots. Credit to Rollins for sticking with it and finding his spots to make some big plays as the Bucks were mounting their comeback.
Grade: B-
Myles Turner
28 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1/6 FG, 2/4 FT, +15
While it was one of his worst offensive games in a while, Turner really brought it defensively. He was able to take advantage of the Celtics’ overall lack of size and wall off the paint. Boston finished with just 28 points in the paint, and a huge credit has to go to MT.
Grade: C-
Kyle Kuzma
31 minutes, 31 points, 6 rebounds, 13/17 FG, 4/5 FT, +12
What a game it was for Kuz. He scored 12 points in the second quarter, and then followed that up by scoring nine of the 11 points in an 11-0 run that allowed the Bucks to tie it in the third. He was aggressive inside, going 11/13 in the paint, and even knocked down a corner three. Heck of a game for Kuz on both ends.
Grade: A
Bobby Portis
26 minutes, 27 points, 10 rebounds, 11/13 FG, 5/6 3PT, +12
This was, bar none, the best Bobby has been defensively all season. His passion was evident, and he put forth great effort all night long. His offense was just as good, if not better. Also, seeing him get in Jaylen Brown’s face was a beautiful sight.
Grade: A
Gary Trent Jr.
28 minutes, 13 points, 2 rebounds, 5/9 FG, 3/6 3PT, +12
Trent got the start with AJ Green still out with that left shoulder contusion, and I thought it was a solid game from GT. He got the Bucks going offensively early and helped stem the tide after a rough opening six minutes.
Grade: B+
Gary Harris
33 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 0/3 FG, +26
This is one of the oddest stat lines you will ever see. +26 with not a single basket on the stat sheet is very uncommon; that said, Harris was solid in his role. The grade drags down due to the lack of offense, but he was a good matchup for the Celtics’ guards and played good perimeter defense.
Grade: C
Cole Anthony
19 minutes, 9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block, 4/6 FG, +9
The player who seemed forever glued to the bench had his best game in 4-6 weeks. He was locked nearly from the moment he got on the floor with Rollins and KPJ in foul trouble. He was good on both ends and took the right shots instead of just chucking bad looks.
Grade: B
Doc Rivers
Doc said in the postgame presser that the last two days they worked on second-effort drills in practice, and it seemed to pay off. The Bucks were flying around the court and were executing well on the floor, and some of that credit definitely goes Doc’s way. Great work to get the message across that the team had been playing soft.
Grade: A-
Limited Minutes: Jericho Sims
Garbage Time: Andre Jackson Jr., Thanasis Antetokounmpo, Amir Coffey, Pete Nance
Inactive: Giannis Antetokounmpo, AJ Green, Taurean Prince, Mark Sears, Alex Antetokounmpo
Bonus Bucks Bits
- Doc Rivers talked pre-game about how much Taurean Prince has been involved with the team during his injury, as he’s basically become another assistant coach. Here are Doc’s full comments on what Prince has been able to do since he’s been out:
“I call him coach every day now because right now that’s what he is to our team. We are giving him responsibilities in that way, to check in on players and do different things like that. He wants to be around the team, which I think is important for him as well. We don’t know if you’re gonna play or not this year or even your future or any of that stuff; you’ve got a lot going on. So, we’re trying to take the burden off of him, as much as we can.”
- Bobby Portis picked up his first double-double of the season last night. It was the 81st double-double of his career as a reserve, tying him with Ray Tarpley for third all-time in that stat. He trails just Enes Freedom (86) and Detlef Schrempf (106) for No. 2 and No. 1 all-time.
- Speaking of Bobby, he picked up a technical foul after getting in the face of Jaylen Brown. This came after he hit a fadeaway jumper over Brown during the Bucks’ third-quarter run. Bobby talked about that moment and about the type of player he is:
“I’m an emotional player, I wear my heart on my sleeve, especially in big games like this. I just like to ball, I like to hoop. The gym is one of the places you can scream and be yourself. It’s not like a classroom where you have to be quiet. I’ve always been taught to play with swagger, play with emotion, and have fun.”
- Bobby also talked about the second-effort practices the Bucks went through over the last couple of days, joking that they practiced so long it was dark when they left.
“Practice starts at two on Tuesdays, but we were in there until five, and it was dark outside; it was dark when we came out. When we came in, guys did a lot of stretching, lifting weights, or got on the court for individual workouts, and then practice started at two, and once practice was over, I was lifting, and it was dark out there.”
- Kyle Kuzma had his first 30-point game as a Buck in this one.
Up Next
The Bucks will take on another team from the Atlantic division, as they will head on the road for a one-game stop to take on the Brooklyn Nets. The game is this Sunday, with tip-off scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Central time, and you can catch it all on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin.
