Celtics rally past Bucks as Milwaukee's nightmare season continues

MILWAUKEE -- The Celtics successfully turned a miserable opening half into a hard-fought road win Sunday in Milwaukee.

Led by Jayson Tatum, Boston rallied for a 113-107 victory at Fiserv Forum to improve to 9-2. The Bucks fell to 2-8 in what’s been a dreadful start to the season for the former Eastern Conference power.

The game featured a matchup between two of the NBA’s three top scorers, and both delivered. Tatum registered 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists to lead Boston, and Giannis Antetokounmpo went off for 43 points, 13 boards, five helpers and two blocks in a losing effort.

Tatum’s 13-for-15 effort at the free-throw line helped him overcome pedestrian shooting percentages from the floor (7-for-21) and from 3-point range (4-for-12).

Jaylen Brown contributed 14 points, five rebounds and four assists after missing the previous four games with a hip flexor strain. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White each scored 15 for Boston and combined for three steals and a block, all in the second half.

Payton Pritchard scored 17 of his 18 points in the first half to keep the slow-starting Celtics competitive.

The Celtics fell behind 16-2 for the second consecutive game and trailed 40-30 after one quarter. It was just the second 40-point quarter Boston had allowed this season, and it was powered by Antetokounmpo, who poured in 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the opening frame.

The two-time NBA MVP consistently found success attacking Al Horford. In one of their matchups, he posterized the veteran big man on one particularly emphatic alley-oop.

Milwaukee also got nine first-quarter points from Taurean Prince, who started 3-for-3 from three. Boston hit seven threes in the frame — all by different players — yet still trailed by double digits. The Bucks shot 63.6% in the quarter, far outpacing the Celtics’ 39.1% clip.

Friday night against Brooklyn, Boston was able to quickly recover from its sluggish start. That game was tight for the final 3 1/2 quarters before the Celtics pulled away in overtime. Sunday’s turnaround was not as immediate.

The Bucks maintained a double-digit advantage for most of the first half, with their lead peaking at 17 points. One of the only reasons Boston was able to stay within reasonable striking distance was Pritchard, who was 5-for-8 from three before halftime.

Pritchard, who also scored 28 against Milwaukee at TD Garden on Oct. 28, continues to build a strong case for Sixth Man of the Year.

Brown took the reins late in the second quarter, scoring on three consecutive possessions as part of a 10-3 Celtics run. He fed Neemias Queta for a floater in the lane that cut Milwaukee’s lead to nine. But Antetokounmpo responded by spinning past Queta and Horford for the last of his 27 first-half points.

The Celtics trailed 69-58 at the break — the highest-scoring first half by any Boston opponent this season. They also went the entire half without recording a single block or steal.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Celtics finally began to look like the defending NBA champions. They opened the second half with a 14-1 run that included a Horford block, a Holiday steal and threes by both players. White also hit two third-quarter triples and blocked an Antetokounmpo layup as Boston nearly doubled up Milwaukee in the period (29-15).

Tatum scored 11 in the third and avoided injury on a dangerous Antetokounmpo close-out that should have drawn a flagrant foul. The Bucks star stuck his foot into Tatum’s landing zone, causing the latter to turn his ankle.

In his postgame news conference, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said it was “ridiculous” that no foul was called on the play.

“You can’t miss that,” Mazzulla told reporters. “You can’t miss that. … That’s something that’s got to be (called) because it could have hurt him. He’s hurt an ankle before (in the 2023 Eastern Conference finals). That could have got him (this) time. But credit to him for handling it the right way.”

Tatum was in visible pain but remained in the game. His three free throws after being fouled by Bobby Portis on a 3-point attempt put Boston ahead 87-84 entering the fourth.

The fourth quarter featured two delay-of-game technical fouls on Milwaukee (Boston made one free throw, missed the other) and a Flagrant 1 on Brown, who dropped Antetokounmpo with what officials deemed was “significant contact.”

The two were involved in another incident earlier in the game when Antetokounmpo elbowed Brown while driving to the basket. Antetokounmpo was called for a common offensive foul, and when the two jogged back up the court, he gave Brown a “too slow” handshake fake-out.

Tatum looked like he expected to be hit with an offensive foul during one key sequence midway through the fourth quarter. He isolated the defensively challenged Damian Lillard in the lane and paused after his hard shoulder knocked Lillard to the court. No whistle came, however, and though Tatum missed his initial shot, White gathered the rebound and fed the ball back to Tatum for a 3-pointer that gave Boston a 101-97 lead.

Minutes later, the duo connected for another three. Tatum found a matchup with Lillard, drew a double team from Antetokounmpo and zipped a pass to an open White, who capitalized.

Tatum turned the ball over on the ensuing Celtics possession but hit a three on the next, this one off an assist from Holiday, to make it 107-102. Holiday, who won a championship with Milwaukee in 2021, added a steal, an offensive rebound and two free throws down the stretch to help Boston shut the door.

The Bucks scored fewer points in the entire second half (38) than they tallied in the first quarter.

Off the rim

Starting center Kristaps Porzingis remained sidelined as he recovers from offseason leg surgery. The Celtics also were without end-of-the-bench player Jaden Springer, who sat out due to left knee tendinopathy. … Queta hoarded frontcourt minutes behind Horford (21 minutes, eight points, seven rebounds). Luke Kornet saw just six minutes after missing Friday’s game with a hamstring injury, and Xavier Tillman played 14 seconds in the win. … Brown’s return pushed Jordan Walsh out of the rotation. Walsh was a DNP for the second time this season and first time since Oct. 26. … Next up for Boston: a home game against Atlanta on Tuesday to open NBA Cup pool play.