The Boston Celtics came from behind to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks 113-107. The Bucks came out firing, eager to turn around a rough start to the season. Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 43 points and the Bucks led by as much as 17, but a second half comeback helped the Celtics win their ninth game of the season. This game also marked the return of Jaylen Brown. After missing the last four games, Brown returned to the Celtics starting lineup with no minute restriction.
The Milwaukee Bucks Dominant Start
The Milwaukee Bucks got off to a good start at home, taking a 16-2 lead. The Celtics fell to a similar deficit early against the Brooklyn Nets and had to battle back from another cold start. Giannis Antetokounmpo was excellent in the first quarter and the Celtics had no answer. In the first quarter, he scored 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Taurean Prince also started hot with 9 points, shooting 3-of-3 from three. The Celtics defense struggled to contain Milwaukee, giving up 40 points in the first quarter on 63.6% shooting. So, even when the Celtics offense got going, they still trailed. At the end of one, the Bucks led 40-30.
The Bucks continued to dominate in the second quarter, extending their lead to as high as 17. Payton Pritchard seemed to be the only Boston Celtic playing with any urgency. He scored 28 points against the Bucks in their previous meeting and began to heat up again in the second quarter. Pritchard was 5-of-8 from three in the first half, leading the Celtics with 17 points. But outside of Pritchard, Boston had trouble keeping up with Milwaukee’s hot first half. At halftime, the Boston Celtics trailed 69-58.
Giannis Antetokounmpo was up to 27 points at halftime on an efficient 12-of-16 shooting. Damian Lillard had 9, shooting 2-of-8. Jaylen Brown was the only Celtic other than Pritchard to score double-digit points in the first half with 11. But the story of the first half was the Bucks scoring. They came out with a clear chip on their shoulder after a poor start to the season. In the first half, they shot 58.1% from the field and 58.8% from three. The Boston Celtics only shot 41.9% in the half and 37.9% from three.
The Boston Celtics Comeback
The Boston Celtics came out energetic in the third quarter, opening with a 12-0 run to take the lead. They were playing urgent defense, and the shots began to fall. But then, Jayson Tatum went down. On a three-point attempt, Antetokounmpo closed out on Tatum and caused him to land awkwardly with no foul call. Tatum stayed in the game, which was a relief for Celtics fans. The injury timeout allowed both teams to regroup, and the quarter was back and forth from there. They traded the lead at the end of the quarter before three Tatum free throws gave Boston the lead. Through three quarters, the Boston Celtics led 87-84.
The back-and-forth battle continued into the fourth quarter, But a flagrant foul by Jaylen Brown allowed Milwaukee to take the lead. Tatum responded for Boston, knocking down a three to give them a 101-97 lead. Another three from Tatum gave the Celtics a five-point lead with two minutes to go. A Giannis and-one quickly made it a one possession game, but a couple of hustle plays from Jrue Holiday made the difference for Boston. He got a steal, and a huge offensive rebound to help the Celtics hold their lead down the stretch. The Boston Celtics gutted out a tough win 113-107 despite a heroic performance from Antetokounmpo.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics improved to 9-2 with this come-from-behind win. Jayson Tatum had a huge second half and led the team with 31 points and 12 rebounds. Payton Pritchard had 18 off the bench while Jrue Holiday and Derrick White each had 15. The Milwaukee Bucks, meanwhile, came out strong but suffered another loss. This puts them at 2-8 on the season despite a 43-point game from Giannis Antetokounmpo. This game felt like one they needed to win, and they played well, but it was not enough.
