The Celtics best offensive weapons were not in the TD Garden on Tuesday night, but that didn't stop them from putting together one of team's best offensive performances of the season. Jaylen Brown set a new career-high with 30 points, while Terry Rozier added 21 points as the C's overcame another monster performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo (30 points on 13-of-17 shooting) to produce a 120-106 victory at the TD Garden.
Six different Celtics scoring in double figures during the win, as the C's were red-hot from the field (53 percent) and 3-point range (41 percent) for the majority of the night. The Bucks shot a ridiculous 59 percent from the field themselves but turnovers (15) and second-chance points (20-9 edge for Boston) proved to be the difference as Milwaukee showed limited resistance all night long.
Boston takes a 2-0 series lead with win, and will have a couple days off ahead into a Game 3 showdown in Milwaukee on Friday night.
WHO: Celtics (1-0) vs. Bucks (0-1)
WHEN: 8:00 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: NBC Sports Boston, TNT
Celtics
PG: Terry Rozier
SG: Jaylen Brown
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Bucks
PG: Eric Bledsoe
SG: Tony Snell
F: Khris Middleton
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: John Henson
Third Quarter Notes
- The Celtics' high-level offense rolled on after three quarters with some incredible shot making from the backcourt.
- Jaylen Brown poured in 10 of his playoff-high 26 points in the third quarter, punishing the Bucks from inside and out.
- His partner in crime Terry Rozier continues to outperform Eric Bledsoe as well. He's up to 18 points after three, while limiting the Bucks point guard to 3-of-10 shooting from the field.
- The C's have managed to sustain their lead in large part thanks to the extra attention they are handling the ball with. C's had just three turnovers in first three quarters, limiting the easy transition opportunities the Bucks saw thus far. That's a huge dropoff from the 15 in Game 1.
- Two huge baskets by Shane Larkin to close out the quarter, burning aging veteran Jason Terry at the rim and a buzzer-beating 3.
- C's continue to punish Giannis on the defensive end, a surprising development given the hype he had all year long as a potential defensive player of the year candidate.
- Felt like a re-run during the first few minutes of the frame from Game 1. C's weren't turning the ball over but the Bucks were still attacking off misses and get easy looks on the break.
- Giannis helped the second unit erase a double-digit first-quarter deficit and tie the game up at 35 while Al Horford and Jaylen Brown got some rest in during the first few minutes of the quarter.
- The C's offense began to stabilize once again though once their veterans got back into the fold.
- Horford served as the facilitator at the top of the key, while Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier started wreaking havoc from inside and out. The pair combined for 30 points of Boston's first 60 first-half points and were 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
- Jayson Tatum tried to force things a bit too much with his opportunities and failed to hit a shot (0-of-6) in the first half.
- The avalanche of second-chance points kept coming the C's way as Aron Baynes got into the act with a couple of putbacks. Hosts had an 18-2 edge in this department in the first half and grabbed 30 percent of their offensive rebound opportunities.
- C's also held a 10-2 turnover edge, which allowed them to overcome the Bucks 62 percent shooting in the first half.
- Giannis made his first seven shots of the game and finished with a game-high 18 points at halftime.
- Giannis came out of this game looking like a man on a mission. Scored nine of the first 11 points for Bucks, pushing the pace and punishing Aron Baynes constantly on switches.
- C's managed to keep themselves afloat based on the strength of their second-chance points early. They grabbed five offensive rebounds in the first five minutes, helping them to pile up 10 second-chance points.
- With Baynes struggling against Giannis, Brad Stevens turned to Guerschon Yabusele over Baynes a few minutes into the game. The more mobile rookie help his own in switches against Giannis and helped turn the ride for the C's offense with some hustle plays.
- Jaylen Brown started to get going from there as the Bucks suffered from turnover issues (five), allowing for transition opportunities for the shooting guard. He scored a game-high 12 points off his open looks. Rozier added seven points.
- Celtics closed the first quarter on a 17-7 run. Khris Middleton (31 points) attempted zero shot attempts.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo's 35 points in Game 1 were a playoff career-high for him. He also became just the third Bucks player to post a 30+ points and 10+ rebounds in team history, joining the company of Terry Cummings and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
- Recovery has been the key theme for the Celtics over the past 48 hours after several players including veteran Al Horford played a season-high 44 minutes during the overtime win in Game 1.
- Gordon Hayward remains away from the Celtics team for the first part of this series as he continues to do some of his running rehab with a specialist in Indiana, according to Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston.
- Four Celtics scored 20 or more points in a playoff game for the Celtics in Game 1 for the first time since 1991.
