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Jayson Tatum delivered 31 points and 12 rebounds to spark the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics over Milwaukee 113-107 on Sunday despite Giannis Antetokounmpo's 43-point performance for the Bucks.
The Celtics improved to 9-2, two games behind unbeaten Cleveland in the Eastern Conference, while the host Bucks slid to 2-8. Payton Pritchard scored 18 points off the Boston bench while Derrick White and former Buck Jrue Holiday each scored 15 points and Jaylen Brown added 14 for the Celtics.
"Team effort," Holiday said. "It's not easy doing it by yourself. We did it collectively." It eased the memory of two lopsided Boston losses in Milwaukee last season. "It's nice," Holiday said. "We got blown out twice last year so getting this win here with my family in the building is awesome."
Greek star Antetokounmpo also grabbed 13 rebounds and elbowed Brown to the floor at one point, then offered a hand to help him up only to pull it away when Brown reached for it. "Giannis is a child," Brown said afterward. "I'm just focused on helping my team get a win."
The Bucks led 69-58 at half-time but the Celtics grabbed a 87-84 edge entering the fourth quarter and closed with a 9-5 run to seal the triumph, Tatum scoring seven in the crucial stretch. "We just picked up the intensity," Holiday said of the third-quarter rally. "We came out, hit shots, not getting too ahead of ourselves and getting back to Celtics basketball."
