Tatum drops 42 as Celtics score home win over Bucks

The Boston Celtics snapped a three-game losing streak Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, scoring an impressive 117-103 win over the defending NBA champions at TD Garden. Jayson Tatum carried the load for the C's with 42 points on 16-for-25 shooting.

Jaylen Brown returned to the lineup after missing five games with a lingering hamstring injury, scoring 19 while shooting 6-for-13. Marcus Smart also returned after missing just one game with a non-COVID-related illness. Smart was only 1-for-6 from the floor, but made up for his poor shooting with 11 assists.

Tatum dominated from three-point range, with a 7-for-13 night from downtown. Grant Williams was even more efficient off the bench, going 5-for-7 from three and totaling 17 points. Williams also pulled down seven rebounds in one of his most productive games of the season.

Defensively, the Celtics limited the Bucks' Giannis Antetokounmpo to 20 points and eight rebounds. Antetokounmpo entered the game averaging 27.3 points and 11.7 boards.

Boston arrived home on the heels of dropping three straight on a West Coast road trip. Monday's win over third-seeded Milwaukee gets the Celtics back to .500 on the season at 14-14.

Up Next: The Celtics get three days off in a row before getting back to it with a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday, against the Golden State Warriors and New York Knicks.