Final: Celtics 116, Bucks 105 -- Second half turnaround

The shorthanded Celtics rallied from a 19-point deficit on Wednesday night, riding their starting five (108 combined points) in the midst of an impressive 116-105 victory at the TD Garden. Milwaukee lead by as many as 15 points midway through the third quarter before the hosts rallied with a 37-11 run to turn a double-digit deficit into a runaway as the fourth quarter progressed. Kemba Walker led all scorers with 32 points (season-high 15 free throw attempts) while Jayson Tatum (25 points) and Gordon Hayward (21 points) delivered huge second halves after a slow shooting start.

Marcus Smart (19 points) may have been the MVP of the night however after limiting Giannis Antetokounmpo to just 22 points on the evening in what was a terrific team effort on the MVP over 48 minutes for a shorthanded squad that was missing Jaylen Brown (illness) and Enes Kanter (knee). The C's improve to 3-1 with their third straight win and will go for four in a row against the lowly Knicks on Friday night.

Third Quarter Notes 

• The Celtics couldn't seem to get over the hump for the first few minutes of the frame, giving up a couple baskets every time they cut into the Bucks 16-point lead.


• However, the tide shifted at the seven-minute mark as the C's defense buckled in for a 26-7 run over the rest of the quarter.


• In addition to terrific defense from the C's, Kemba walker piled up free throw attempts while Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum both hit double digits in scoring during the frame to give Boston the desperately needed offense that escaped them in the first half.

• Smart opens up guarding Giannis


• Theis pick and pop good patience on opening possession


• Smart gets tie up on Giannis. Doing well against him in isolation.


• Theis miss open 3 as Lopez stays off him


• Middleton on Kemba open leads to easy buckets


• Hayward looking sluggish out of the gate.


• Kemba hasn’t touched ball much in opening for minutes as he hasn’t attempted any of first four shots. C’s keep him off the ball.


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  Kemba miss first 3 heavy pressure from Bledsoe

  
  


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  The Bucks just hitting every open look early as they open 60 percent from the field in first nine minutes.

  
  


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  Kemba Walker breaks out of early quiet night with back-to-back 3s when Bledsoe gets subbed out of the game.

  
  


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  Bucks open the game 4-of-7 from 3-point range.

  
  


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  Grant and Robert Williams for first two bigs off the bench. A lot of scrambling defense from the C’s to try to help Kemba on switches but recovery has been tough.

  
  


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  C’s bench struggles against the Bucks second unit, bringing back memories from the postseason last year. Bench outscores Boston 10-2 in the first quarter to push the visitors lead to 15 after first.

  
  


• C's start to show some offensive life in the second half as Marcus Smart nails a trio of 3s while Kemba Walker adds a couple. Bucks offense is still red-hot however with all nine active players getting on the scoreboard in the early going.


• Gordon Hayward continuing his struggles from last postseason against Milwaukee, opening the game 0-of-5 from the field.


• C's bench is a combined 1-of-6 with four points in the first half through 18 minutes. Bucks bench has 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.


• C's bigs have opened the season 0-of-10 from 3-point range.

• Jaylen Brown is a late scratch due to illness. Enes Kanter will also be out with a sore knee. Daniel Theis (ankle) and Romeo Langford (knee) will be on the active roster after sitting out Wednesday night.


• The Bucks are playing at the highest pace in the league to start the season and have posted a top-5 offense over their first three games.


• The Celtics have No. 1 n the league through three games in both turnovers forced and turnover rate, setting the tone that Brad Stevens wanted to begin the year from a ball pressure standpoint.


• Gordon Hayward on the Bucks: "They’re obviously really good. They have pretty much the same team as last year. They play together. They do a good job of kind of staying in their roles and getting to their spots. I mean Giannis was obviously the MVP and so it’s going to take all five of us to contain him. And Middleton has done his thing. But all of them do a really good job just with their spacing and knowing how each other plays and, like I said, getting to their spots. So it’s going to be a good challenge for us, no doubt. It’s going to be a fun night."