The red-hot Boston Celtics will put a bow on a four-game road trip on Friday night when they take on the Bucks in Milwaukee.
Boston has won four of its last five contests and eight of its last 10 overall, including a 147-129 drubbing of the Heat in Miami on Wednesday night.
The Celtics were dominant from the get-go, posting a 53-point first quarter and never looking back. Jaylen Brown led with 43 points while Jayson Tatum added 25 and Sam Hauser scored 23.
“We got off to a good start pace-wise. There’s time when you execute well and get good shot after good shot, it just kind of happens,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “We kept fighting for good looks, the next best look.”
Brown has been the steady leader all season, averaging 28.8 points, seven rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest across 67 games. In 12 games played since returning from an Achilles tear, Tatum has averaged 21.3 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Milwaukee comes in having lost 15 of its last 19 games, but a 119-113 loss against the Rockets in Houston requires a look beyond the box score.
The Bucks went down to just seven active players after Gary Trent Jr. (hip) left the game just seven minutes in, as Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee), Ryan Rollins (hip), Kyle Kuzma (Achilles), Myles Turner (ankle) and Bobby Portis (wrist) among others were out.
Those seven active players included Alex Antetokounmpo — yes, a third Antetokounmpo brother — and Cormac Ryan, who had played three and 39 minutes, respectively, prior to the game.
However, the young Bucks hung tight until the very end against a fully healthy Rockets team competing for a top-four seed in the Western Conference.
Ousmane Dieng led Milwaukee with a career-high 36 points and 10 assists while Ryan and Pete Nance also posted career highs with 25 and 23 points, respectively.
“It was more than an effort game. Playing hard wasn’t enough, they played hard and smart,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “It’s a spirit riser for your team and really good for the young guys to see.”
In a positive development, Kuzma and Turner were removed from the injury report while Rollins is probable to face Boston. Trent and Thanasis Antetokounmpo (calf) are questionable, but Giannis Antetokounmpo and Portis will remain out.
Nikola Vucevic is still listed as out for Boston after undergoing surgery on his right ring finger on March 7. He was set to be re-evaluated 3-4 weeks following the surgery.
This is the deciding match of the four-game season series between these teams after Boston won each of the last two matchups.
One of Milwaukee’s better wins of the season was against Boston back on Dec. 11, 116-101. The Celtics’ defense has suffocated the Bucks in each matchup since as Boston won 107-79 and 108-81.
The most recent matchup on March 2 in Milwaukee was particularly notable given the Celtics were playing without Brown and Tatum and the Bucks had a near-fully healthy lineup. Payton Prichard led Boston with 25 points off the bench while Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 19 points in an injury-restricted 25 minutes.
