MILWAUKEE — The Celtics weren‘t perfect, but once again, they found a way to win after finding themselves down early. The C‘s won another clutch game, this time 113-107 over the Bucks on Sunday at the Fiserv Forum. The C’s improved to 9-2 on the year while the Bucks continued to dig a deeper hole now at 2-8.
The Celtics started slow for the second straight game, and in a coincidence, was down 16-2 just like against the Nets. But this time, the Bucks were explosive as they built their advantage in a matter of a few minutes.
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That offensive explosion was a preview for the rest of the first half for the Bucks. By halftime, they poured in 69 points as they shot 58.1% from the field and 58.8% from 3. Giannis Antetokounmpo was everywhere with 27 points in the first half alone. But the C’s were able to stay within striking distance because of Payton Pritchard’s 17 points in the first half.
The Celtics came out blazing in the second half as they leaned on their defense in the second half. It got a little chippy between Jaylen Brown and Antetokounmpo, including some elbows and a flagrant 1 foul in the fourth quarter, but there weren’t too many fireworks down the stretch. The Celtics were able to pull away at the end for the victory as the Bucks didn’t have enough offense in the second half.
Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 12 rebounds to lead the way, though it wasn’t an efficient shooting night at 7-for-21. But he impacted the game in other ways, including a 13-for-15 showing from the free throw line. Derrick White and Jrue Holiday had 15 points each. Antetokounmpo was relentless with 43 points and 13 rebounds.
The Celtics return home for an NBA Cup game against the Hawks at 7 p.m. Tuesday at TD Garden. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Milwaukee:
Defense steps up: The Celtics don‘t want to make it a habit to find themselves down big in the first quarter, but that was the case again Sunday. Still, the C‘s just kept up with the Bucks despite some stellar execution early from the home team. That allowed the Celtics to stay within striking distance at halftime despite facing a 17-point deficit earlier in the game. Then they made their big move in the second half. The Bucks put up 40 points in the first quarter. But in the second half, they scored just 38 points. That was a huge reason why the C’s were able to put together their comeback effort.
Making it back: While the Celtics navigated Brown’s absence well, there was some worry after he missed the past four games. But Brown’s left hip flexor strain was considered day-to-day as he was back for Sunday’s game. Brown wasn’t quite efficient Sunday in his return, shooting 4-for-13 from the field for 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. But still, he was right back into the game for crunch-time.
Continued success: When the Celtics tried to keep up with the Bucks in the first half, Pritchard was a huge part of that effort. His 17 points in the first half came at some much-needed parts of the game as he caught some fire. His performance Sunday comes after scoring 28 points off the bench against the Bucks earlier this season. There‘s seemingly something about Milwaukee that brings out the best in Pritchard thus far this year, though he‘s had an excellent start.
Lineup look: With the Celtics back at relative full strength (Kristaps Porzingis is the big exception), the rotation was tighter with the C‘s looking to make a comeback. Horford served as the starter, and while all four big men played in the first quarter, Neemias Queta got the bulk of the backup minutes. That could change in the coming games considering matchups, but Queta’s emergence has been a pleasant early surprise for the C’s so far. Porzingis isn’t expected back for at least a few more weeks, so Queta continuing his overall strong play is a good sign of the roster’s depth at this point. Queta finished with 22 minutes played, putting up eight points and seven rebounds. It was essentially an eight-man rotation for the C’s on Sunday with Sam Hauser getting 12 minutes of action.
