Three Studs, Three Duds As Celtics Fend Off Bucks In Playoff-Like Game

BOSTON — If the Boston Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks see each other again this season, it will come in the postseason.

And Friday night felt like a playoff preview between the two Eastern Conference foes.

The Celtics and Bucks battled in a back-and-forth contest — there were 14 lead changes in the game — before Boston came through down the stretch in the fourth quarter to notch a 111-105 win at TD Garden. The Celtics swept the three-game regular-season series against the Bucks and improved to 19-4 in the process. Milwaukee, which came in winners of seven of its last eight games, dropped to 11-11.

Here are three studs and three duds from the game as Boston’s stars really made the ultimate difference:

STUDS
Jayson Tatum
Tatum gifted his son a stellar performance as a birthday present. Tatum took over in the fourth quarter, making a handful of plays that changed the complexion of the contest. He began the frame by hitting a 3-pointer and then converting a four-point play and then made a read to find Jrue Holiday for a game-sealing basket with 25.6 seconds left. Tatum scored 14 of his game-high 34 points in the fourth quarter and shot 12-for-20 from the field. He notched a double-double by grabbing 10 rebounds while also dishing out five assists.

Jaylen Brown
Brown brought an edge to his play on both ends of the court. He picked up Damian Lillard in the backcourt in the first half, applying ample pressure to the star guard and nearly causing a turnover. He wasn’t afraid to mix it up again with Giannis Antetokounmpo, either. Brown scored down low on Antetokounmpo just over a minute into the third quarter and gave him the “too low” gesture. The two then exchanged words, resulting in a technical for Brown.

Brown kept that tenacity in being an offensive leader on the night. He netted 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting to go along with three assists and three rebounds.

Damian Lillard
The Bucks star is a defensive liability — the Celtics targeted Lillard often — but he makes up for it on the other end of the court. Lillard showed why he’s still one of the premier scorers in the NBA as he poured in 20 of his team-high 31 points in the first half.

DUDS
Celtics’ second-quarter performance
The Celtics have no problem launching 3-pointers even when they aren’t going down. And that’s what happened to Boston’s detriment in the second quarter. After knocking down 7-of-16 treys in the opening frame, the Celtics shot a putrid 0-for-12 from beyond the arc in the second quarter. Tatum missed all six of his 3-point attempts in the quarter. The poor shooting allowed the Bucks to outscore the Celtics, 30-24, in the stanza and take a 57-53 halftime lead.

Derrick White
The Celtics can usually expect a sizable contribution from White in showdowns against top competition. It never came from White, though. He struggled to find his shot as he went an eye-popping 1-for-10 from the field to score just six points.

Bobby Portis
Someone needed to tell the Bucks big man to stop shooting Friday night. Portis went 2-for-12 from the field in the first half to become a black hole in Milwaukee’s offense. It seemed like he got the message in the second half as he only attempted three shots. Portis did grab a game-high 18 rebounds. He should have just stuck to that instead of trying to take on the role of a scorer.