The Celtics showed some fight on Thursday night but it came too little too late against the NBA’s best team. After allowing the most first half points in 15 years and trailing by as many as 27, the Celtics had a chance to cut the Bucks lead to one point in the final minute of the game. An airballed Marcus Smart 3 sealed the deal for the Bucks however, allowing the hosts to hold on for a 128-123 victory.
The shorthanded Celtics (no Jaylen Brown) got the best game of Kemba Walker’s career in a Celtics uniform as the All-Star went for a game-high 40 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes. Marcus Smart added 24 points while filling in for Brown in the starting five but it wasn’t enough to keep pace with the Bucks firepower as Milwaukee shot 51.6 percent from 3-point range and scored 76 points in the first half to build a lead that the C’s could not overcome. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the way with 32 points and 17 rebounds while Khris Middleton added 23 points.
Boston has now lost two straight games overall and five of their last seven. They look to bounce back at the Garden on Saturday night against the Suns.
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jayson Tatum
PF: Gordon Hayward
C: Daniel Theis
- Jaylen Brown is out after suffering a sprained right thumb against the Pistons on Wednesday night. He will get imaging on the injury tomorrow according to the team. Jayson Tatum is back in the lineup after a day off to rest his sore foot.
- The Celtics are 3-4 on the second half of back-to-backs this season.
- This is the second of four meetings with the Bucks this season for Boston. They are 1-0 so far with a win back in November at the Garden without Jaylen Brown in the lineup.
- The Bucks are the only team in the NBA to rank in the top-3 in both offensive and defensive rating. They are currently on pace to win 70 games.