The Milwaukee Bucks got rattled by the Boston Celtics 133-101 tonight, the exact result one would expect from a contender facing a tanking squad. The C’s were led by their two stars, Jayson Tatum (23 points) and Jaylen Brown (26 points), while the Bucks were paced by Taurean Prince, who had 18.
Game Recap
Boston burst out of the gate with a 7-0 run in the first 90 seconds. Their second bucket came on a highlight fastbreak started by a Jayson Tatum behind-the-back outlet pass, making it clear
they felt good about this matchup. From there, the visitors built their first double-digit lead by the 8:45 mark. The Bucks looked outmatched and out of it on both ends. Neemias Queta was dominating early, but Ousmane Dieng did make the big fella look mortal for a second, drilling a stepback three over him from the corner. Some botched zone defense from the Bucks helped the Celtics build a 43-26 advantage at the end of the opening dozen.
The Bucks started to find a rhythm in the second, with Kyle Kuzma and Taurean Prince providing a spark. However, whenever Milwaukee dealt a blow, Boston hit right back. Jaylen Brown caught fire, pouring in nine points in the quarter. The shaky footing the home team had found fell out beneath them to the tune of turnovers and many defensive lapses. Boston’s gap increased to 75-55 by intermission.
The Celtics kicked off the second half with a 10-1 jaunt before Myles Turner gave Milwaukee a quick breath of air with a three-ball from the top of the key. The breath was indeed quick, though, as the 2024 champs kept pouring it on. Tatum, Brown, and Payton Pritchard were all in a groove, a difficult combination to stop for any team in the association, let alone the undermanned 30-46 Bucks. To make things worse, with five minutes left in the third, Ousmane Dieng went down clutching his ankle and limped his way back to the locker room. He did not return. The score was 105-76 Boston heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter saw Cormac Ryan check back in after getting some stitches on his lip, and he banged a triple shortly after his return. AJ Green added a few long balls as well. Other than that, this was your typical end to a blowout, with the end-of-bench guys getting some burn for both sides, including Thanasis and Alex Antetokounmpo for the Bucks.
Stat That Stood Out
The Celtics pummeled the Bucks on the interior, winning the paint point differential 56-22.
