The Celtics spent much of the contest missing shots from 3-point range, but were able to make up for it.

Tatum came out firing in the final quarter, hitting a 3-pointer and then completing a four-point play in 25 seconds to give Celtic an 85-82 lead with 11:05 left. After a 3-pointer from Damian Lillard, Derrick White tied the game after a 0-9 start with a layup with 8:56 left.

Bobby Trent Jr. increased the Bucks’ lead to 95-92 with a three-pointer before a timeout with 7:34 left. The Celtics missed a chance to take the lead again when Al Horford missed from distance and was beaten by Lillard in the lane.

Horford recovered by fending off Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the Celtics only regained the ball after a tackle, giving Tatum the opportunity to take the lead.

Within 63 seconds, Tatum converted a foul shot, found Jrue Holiday for a layup and, after Jaylen Brown stopped Lillard at the rim, took a 100-99 lead with 4:18 left.

The Bucks regained the lead on a Lillard dunk. But Tatum drove and Horford’s 3-pointer made it 105-101 with 88 seconds left. Antetokounmpo’s foul shot narrowed the deficit, but Holiday’s shot-clock floater off a Tatum feed increased the Celtics’ lead to 107-101 with 25 seconds left.

The sitting strategy could also work for Holiday, who scored nine of the Celtics’ 33 points in the fourth quarter after missing the Celtics’ 130-120 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

This time, Kristaps Porzingis (left leg) took a break, and the Bucks (11-11) capitalized on it as Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez hit the boards, clogging up the lane and making things generally uncomfortable for the hosts.

The Celtics simply went out there like they have all season, and even though they missed the goal for the most part, their long-range attack worked.

However, there were some doubts along the way.

Horford snapped a 10-0 Celtics 3-pointer early in the second half, and Holiday’s 3-pointer made it 63-1 with 7:27 left in the third quarter. But the Celtics were on a 2:17 losing streak and the Bucks took a 70-67 lead on Lillard’s three-pointer with 4:50 left in the third quarter.

The Celtics’ 3-point touch returned late in the quarter, but they trailed 82-81 before Tatum took the lead until the end.

If the Bucks were hoping for a boost from the return of Khris Middleton recovering from knee surgery, there were early positive signs. In his first action of the season, he converted a four-point play in the first quarter. That play sparked an eight-point run by the Bucks as Antetokounmpo’s foul shot brought the Bucks within 20-20 with 3:53 left in the first period.

The Celtics’ anticipated immediate offense off the bench failed to materialize early, with Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard largely failing. In fact, the Celtics only converted three field goals in the final 5:25 of the first quarter, but closed the game 29-27.

In the second quarter, the Celtics initially forgot the 3-pointer, and the change in tactics paid off. Tatum’s fourth chance on an in-bounds play gave the hosts a 45-40 lead with 4:17 left in the half.

But when the Celtics decided to go back to threes, they lost touch. The Celtics went scoreless from 3-point range throughout the second quarter (they were 7 for 28 at halftime) and trailed 57-53 at halftime. Brown and Tatum kept the Celtics in contention, but the Bucks seemed content to let the Celtics go on 2-point shots.

Frank Dell’Apa can be reached at [email protected].