BOSTON – Al Horford’s final shot didn’t matter. He almost looked embarrassed when he attempted the layup with one second left on Friday night. But after Derrick White stole a pass intended for Khris Middleton and spun around to dribble with time remaining, Horford found himself wide open under the basket. Following a pass from White, Horford slowly pivoted before completing the easiest shot of the night.

Horford certainly didn’t mind, but the ending didn’t fit with the rest of the game. The Boston Celtics’ 111-105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks was full of physicality. It was full of meanness. They were very rarely simple buckets. As easy as the Celtics can make the game look by throwing in three-pointers after three, they have shown once again that they can win dirty battles. Defeating Milwaukee, a team with which they have a long history, on a cold ball night only seemed to energize Boston’s players.

“Yeah, I mean, I would say I have a few teams that I played a lot in the playoffs,” Jayson Tatum said. “It’s just always a little something, something you have as a competitor because if you took them out in the playoffs, they took us out. We’ve both won a championship in the last few years. Two proud teams and you always know it’s going to be a fight. And it will be fun. And it’s going to be really competitive.”

The Celtics shot 32.1 percent on 3-point attempts, their fifth-worst outside shooting performance of the season. They were 0-12 from behind the arc in the second quarter and 2-7 in the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter. They had to fight their way against a Bucks team that always seems to compete against them at a high level.

The Celtics did what the game required. They stuck to their game plan when they missed everything in the second quarter. They delivered consistent stops in the fourth round. Tatum took over the offense at the start of the final period, Horford delivered a game-winning 3-pointer with 1:29 left and Jrue Holiday brought down his former team with his floater with 26 seconds left. Even after Middleton was fouled on a 3-pointer on Milwaukee’s ensuing possession, allowing the winger to cut the lead to two points, the Celtics didn’t give the Bucks another chance to tie or take the lead.

Jrue Holiday had 20 points against the Bucks, including four 3s. (Bob DeChiara/Imagn Images)

Another Holiday game in crunch time was more emblematic of Boston’s efforts. With just over a minute left, he fought for a rebound against Giannis Antetokounmpo but couldn’t stop the former MVP from grabbing the board. While Antetokounmpo jumped to attempt a putback, Holiday grabbed his former teammate and threw him to the ground.

“I appreciate them pushing us (through competition),” Holiday said. “I think that’s what makes the game fun. I think this is a kind of test for our future. Of course, I would prefer Giannis to go to the free throw line, and he’s pretty strong, so I don’t want him to take the shot up. But I think overall I think we’re just a competitor and we know we want to win every game or even a game like this. No matter what it takes. Especially since my home is in Boston.”

Coach Joe Mazzulla was pleased with another heated moment early in the second half. About a minute into the third quarter, Jaylen Brown unleashed an undersized gesture after pushing Antetokounmpo through for a left layup. After the game, Brown appeared to be annoyed by contact from Antetokounmpo’s elbow. Brown then received a technical foul for pointing and shoving the Bucks star.

“I thought that was great,” Mazzulla said. “I thought the elbow to the face (from Antetokounmpo) unlocked Jaylen a little bit. I thought Jaylen’s technique was great, and from then on I thought it just gave us an advantage and we could capitalize on it. I’m just thankful for all the things that kind of gave us a leg up.”

The exchange between Brown and Antetokounmpo wasn’t their first this season. In a Celtics win on Nov. 10 in Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo earned an offensive foul with an elbow strike to Brown’s face and then, like an uncle playing a game with his niece or nephew, pretended to hit Brown five times , before finally withdrawing his hand momentarily. Brown called Antetokounmpo a child after the game.

The Celtics and Bucks, who have met in the postseason three times since 2018, bring out each other’s intensity. The recent history between them goes beyond the playoff games. Holiday ended up in Boston after Milwaukee dealt him for Damian Lillard. Horford always seems to enjoy Antetokounmpo’s assignment. No one can stop the eight-time All-Star, but the Celtics often limit his efficiency just as much as any other opponent. Antetokounmpo still did damage to them on Friday with 30 points and 11 rebounds, but should have knocked down his only 3-point attempt. Although he was never a good outside shooter, he largely eliminated the tactic from his game, but with less than two minutes left, he made his 15th 3-point attempt of the season. The Celtics punished his miss by finding Horford on the other end of the court for a transition 3-pointer. His basket, which extended their lead to 105-101, forced a timeout for Milwaukee. Horford celebrated by poking Tatum in the chest.

“Man, I mean, he’s the OG,” Holiday said of Horford. “He’s been doing it the longest. He’s the guy who holds us together. I think being able to play next to him and seeing how intense he is and how excited he gets during the game, that brings everyone else along. When Al speaks or you see him get so emotional, it must be serious. But I love being out there with him.”

Most teams don’t have success on their worst shooting nights. The Celtics moved to 6-0 while shooting less than 33.3 percent on 3-point attempts. White scored just 6 points on 1-for-10 shooting and missed all eight of his long-range attempts. Payton Pritchard, who had scored at least 19 points in each of his previous five games, went scoreless on just three shot attempts for the first time all season. Even Tatum, who scored 34 points on 12-for-20 shooting, missed all six of his 3-point attempts in the second quarter.

Tatum fixed that with a perfect fourth pass. In the final 12 minutes, he contributed 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, consistently providing the right play for his team. He enjoyed the crowd, which was brimming with great energy. Even though the Bucks entered Friday just one game over .500, they have enough star power within their roster and their history with the Celtics to earn the respect of fans. Adding to the excitement, Milwaukee welcomed Middleton back in his season debut. The three-time All-Star missed the first 21 games of the season after undergoing double ankle surgery.

“It wasn’t a playoff game, but it was a special night,” Tatum said. “I’m here – this is my eighth year, and these nights when you’re playing against a really good team with some special players, and the crowd is really involved, and the guys are making plays and feeding off the energy that you have “Teammates and the crowd and the fans, how many times we’ve won games in moments like that, it’s just another special night at TD Garden that I’ve been a part of.”

The Celtics couldn’t always put up with poor shooting performances. During the first season of Mazzulla, he believed that they didn’t have enough options to survive their coldest nights. The numbers backed up his claim. Boston, which posted a 57-25 record this season, lost 14 of 24 games because its shooting percentage on 3-point attempts was worse than 33.3 percent. The Celtics had to learn to win games like this.

Others may think these games are ugly. The Celtics think she’s beautiful.

“Usually when you go through lulls offensively, the defense breaks down at some point,” Mazzulla said. “And I thought (against the Bucks) that wouldn’t be the case, especially because I thought we had great shots most of the game. When we reached our distance, we determined the correct value and moved the ball. Every time you see the numbers from Jrue and Al and those guys, it just shows that we’re peeling back the layers of their defense. So I thought our defense kept us going and I thought we continued to fight for great looks tonight.”

The Celtics liked that the referees allowed more contact than usual. They enjoyed the added physicality on a night when the threesomes weren’t flowing the way they usually do.

“We went through times where maybe our shot wasn’t falling the way we wanted it to, even though we knew we had a lot of good shots and they just weren’t falling,” Holiday said. “But I think we rely a lot on our defense, on being able to go out on the court and know that our defense can save us or keep us close at any time. With the guys over there being what they have, we have to be committed defensively because they can take off at any time. So I think our defense held it for us today.”

(Top photo of Al Horford defending Khris Middleton: Bob DeChiara / Imagn Images)