Final: Bucks 98, Celtics 97 -- Late charge falls short

MILWAUKEE -- Kyrie Irving missed a lefty runner at the buzzer as C's dropped a heartbreaker in Milwaukee 98-97.

Kyrie Irving shook off an awful first half to score 20 of his 22 points in the second half to lead the late C's charge. Al Horford was superb all night in all aspects of the game, finishing with 21 points, a season-high 17 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Five different players scored in double figures but it was Irving, Horford and Jayson Tatum (17 points, 10 rebounds) that carried the C's down the stretch.

Giannis Antetokunmp had a game-high 30 points for the Bucks who have now won 23 of 25 since he has played.

Second Quarter Notes

—C’s go with defensive-minded lineup with Horford/Ojeleye/Tatum up front

—Bucks take advantage of Horford early in some switching, with Brogdon getting a couple layups and a long 3 against mismatches to kept their offense rolling a bit.

—Rozier continues to be a trick or treat on offense, forcing the ball a couple times. He’s been very solid on D though.

—Ilyasova continues to be a target for C’s in the post.

—Bucks offense really getting going in the second quarter as C’s are over helping and aren’t recovering in time to contest 3s. 21 points in first seven minutes leads to a Stevens timeout as supporting cast is beating them.

—Meanwhile, Boston’s offense is sputtering with Irving failing to find a rhythm. He played arguably his worst half of the year going 1-of-10 from the field with just one assist and two points.

—C’s shoot 36 percent from the field with just four free throw attempts. Are staying in the game thanks to their offensive rebounding and good defense.

—Very sloppy offensive play in the early going, with both teams combining for 5-of-18 out of the game.

—Bucks doing a nice job making life tough for Kyrie at the basket (0-of-4 start)

—C’s put Smart on Middleton out of the gate which keeps him from getting going

—A couple early mistakes by Giannis with a missed dunk and slipping out of bounds on a drive

—C’s create some separation midway through opening frame with their defense on a 11-2 run. Bucks offense can’t get anything going with C’s help and recover on point.

—Offensively, they were able to hit some shots on Brook Lopez in space and then found some open shooters for 3s in Morris and Smart.

—C’s offense started to take a hit once Horford went to the bench.

—Kyrie really struggling to find his shot early against Bucks’ elite defense (1-of-7) in first quarter

—Bucks go on a 12-3 run with Horford on the bench, but a couple big 3s by Brown and Ojeleye to close out quarter kept C’s on top

—All in all, a lot of rust from both sides after the eight-game break. C’s doing a great job forcing turnovers (seven in first quarter) and have scored nine points off of them.

• The Celtics will be without Aron Baynes (bruised foot) for the entire road trip, while Gordon Hayward (twisted ankle) remains day-to-day. He's not expected to play on Thursday night. Two-way player RJ Hunter was called up from the Maine Red Claws on Thursday and he's expected to be on the 13-man active roster if Hayward can't go.


• The Bucks are fully healthy outside of rookie Donte DiVincenzo. New trade addition Nikola Mirotic is expected to make his debut off the bench for Milwaukee.


• Milwaukee not only are the best team by record in the NBA, they have been a dominant force for the past couple of months. They have not lost a game at home since January 5th that Giannis Antetokounmpo has played in. They have only lost two games since the start of December at home under the same parameters, with the other loss coming against the Warriors.


• With Hayward out of the lineup, Brad Stevens expects big minutes for Semi Ojeleye to help match up with Antetokounmpo. The second-year forward played his best game of the season against Milwaukee back in November during a win at the TD Garden.


• More pregame reading: Robb: For Celtics, It's put up or shut up time on the road  and Five storylines to watch as Celtics begin stretch run