The Milwaukee Bucks put up a valiant battle with the Boston Celtics in Khris Middleton’s return, but stupid shots down the stretch gave their opponent the win, 111-105, and got them back to .500 this season. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard had 30 and 31, respectively, but that wasn’t enough as Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 34.

NBA.com Box Score

Game review

Tatum was in true Celtics form, opening the game with a three-pointer. Jaylen Brown then made consecutive shots and Dame came back with the pull-up three-pointer. Then Tatum and Brown hit another set of threes to force the Milwaukee timeout, with Boston leading 13-7. Boston then went on a run before Khris Middleton made a ridiculous one-three to cut the deficit to four points (welcome back, Khash). Although there were some bad shots, the Bucks finished the quarter relatively well, only trailing 29-27 after one.

The Bucks opened the second quarter with both Giannis and Khris off the court. Luckily, Dame Lillard was able to hold them out in the opening minutes and force a Boston timeout early in the second. The Celtics allowed three goals (0/12 for the period), but what was frustrating was that the Bucks were also unable to get their share of free shots. Brook Lopez hit a three-pointer midway through the half to open his account for the night, and Trent hit another three-pointer to give the Bucks their first lead of the night. With a lead of 57-53, they maintained a four-point lead until halftime.

Jaylen Brown made things interesting at the beginning of the third part by getting involved with Giannis and hiring a technician in the process. Then Giannis was caught watching the ball, leaving Jrue Holiday open three times and Milwaukee forcing a timeout, leaving the game tied at 63 at third. Giannis had some really smart plays to manage how to attack Boston’s weaker defenders, especially working with his buddy Khris. The Bucks finished the period with great defense and led 82-78.

Tatum immediately hit a three-pointer to cut Boston’s deficit to one, then hit a three-pointer on a three-pointer to give the Celtics the lead. AJ Green responded with a cold-blooded three-pointer and tied the game again. Dame got a few shots against Neemias Queta, Tatum continued cooking and then Trent hit a corner bomb. Celtics timeout, Bucks lead 95-92. Giannis attacked Hauser and scored back-to-back shots (once again, the mismatch hunt was great). Boston responded with threes from Holiday and Tatum to take the lead. Lillard exploded with a dunk to give the Bucks the lead, but Tatum made a dunk that gave the lead back. Then Giannis foolishly settled for a three-pointer, and Horford scored in transition immediately after to bring the Celtics within four. Simply an amazing decision. From then on it was essentially curtains.

Statistics that stood out

The Bucks played a very winnable game tonight. The Celtics, usually three-game standouts, shot a dreadful 17/53 from distance. If Milwaukee had valued what they owned more – especially down the stretch – they could have pulled this one out.

Support our site! | BreakingT | ESPN+ | ESPN+ 30 for 30 | fuboTV | Disney+