Final: Bucks 127, Celtics 121 - Valiant effort by shorthanded C's falls short

GAME 81
Boston Celtics (50-30, 22-17 road, 2nd East) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (49-30, 26-14 home, T-3rd East)
Fiserv Forum
7:30 PM - TNT

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, Grant Williams, Daniel Theis

Milwaukee: Jrue Holiday, Wesley Matthews, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- Al Horford (sore back) and Jayson Tatum (sore knee) are out tonight. Ime Udoka says the decision was not based on anything standings-related.

“Some of the lingering issues they've had. Al being older and, obviously, the back-to-back … and things Jayson went through, health is a priority,” Ime Udoka said. “It was from a strictly physical standpoint, who's feeling well, who has some things going on and being on a back-to-back this late in the year, we're going to be sitting guys.”

- Milwaukee will be without Grayson Allen (hip) and DeAndre’ Bembry (knee)

- Boston will earn the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win tonight. A loss doesn’t automatically give Milwaukee the tiebreaker, though. It depends on conference record and what happens with the Sixers

- Milwaukee is favored by 8.5

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Brook Lopez feasting: Lopez destroyed the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucks try feeding him again against Daniel Theis or Grant Williams. Not only is his strength a mismatch, this is an opportunity to let him continue building more confidence and rhythm before the playoffs. 

Getting Lopez at 100% is a priority for the Bucks. He missed most of the season after an opening night back injury, and having him back snaps a lot into focus for the Bucks. He allows them to play how they want defensively while giving them a new look on offense. 

2. Jaylen Brown’s hot streak (and will he try too hard): Brown is going to be double teamed and blitzed like crazy. It might be a little more than he’s used to. Will he go too hard for his own shot and try to split the double teams, or is he going to bide his time and wait to strike against more advantageous alignments.

3. Marcus Smart getting the scoring green light: We know what happens when the Celtics are down at least one main scorer. Smart will go into full Toronto mode and take 20-plus shots tonight. If he catches fire, the Celtics could surprise the Bucks.

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments