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Jayson Tatum scored 40 points, Jaylen Brown added 30 and the Celtics steamrolled the NBA-leading Bucks 140-99 on Thursday night. The Celtics (53-24) shot 22 of 43 from 3-point range and moved within two games of the Bucks (55-22).
Boston won the season series with the Bucks 2-1, which would give the Celtics the tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same record.
Boston's players downplayed the notion that their lopsided victory would send any sort of message to the Bucks in case they meet again in the postseason. They noted the Bucks were playing for a second straight night and shot just 37.6%, well below their norms.
“We know what the deal is,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led with 24 points. “If you’re not focused and you don’t play hard, they are going to kick our (butt). We’ve got to have some pride.”
Antetokounmpo shot just 11 of 27, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range. Holiday started his night by sinking a 3-pointer, but went 1 of 7 the rest of the way and finished with just six points.
After the first 8½ minutes of the game featured nine lead changes and five ties, the Celtics seized control by going on a 29-9 over the last seven-plus minutes. Boston capped that spurt by scoring 13 straight points and didn't let up the rest of the night.
Boston won the season series with the Bucks 2-1, which would give the Celtics the tiebreaker if both teams finish with the same record.
Boston's players downplayed the notion that their lopsided victory would send any sort of message to the Bucks in case they meet again in the postseason. They noted the Bucks were playing for a second straight night and shot just 37.6%, well below their norms.
“We know what the deal is,” said Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led with 24 points. “If you’re not focused and you don’t play hard, they are going to kick our (butt). We’ve got to have some pride.”
Antetokounmpo shot just 11 of 27, including 0 for 5 from 3-point range. Holiday started his night by sinking a 3-pointer, but went 1 of 7 the rest of the way and finished with just six points.
After the first 8½ minutes of the game featured nine lead changes and five ties, the Celtics seized control by going on a 29-9 over the last seven-plus minutes. Boston capped that spurt by scoring 13 straight points and didn't let up the rest of the night.