Celtics ruin Giannis’ return with convincing win over Bucks
No Tatum, no Brown, no problem for the Celtics, who have now won 12 of their last 14.
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned and the Celtics had to play without both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. No problem.
Payton Pritchard led the way on offense with 25 points off the bench, as the C's scored their 12th win in their last 14 games by a 108-81 final on Monday night at Fiserv Forum. Milwaukee eased Antetokounmpo into the lineup with just 25 minutes, and he managed to grab 19 points and 11 rebounds, but the Bucks' lack of scoring depth behind their superstar big man simply couldn't keep up with the C's.
Boston overcame the absence of their top-2 stars with a balanced offensive attack, as all five starters scored in double-digits. Rookie Hugo Gonzalez made his third start of the season and scored a season-high 18 points to go with 16 rebounds in the backcourt.
With the Knicks idle Monday night, the Celtics extended their lead over them to two games for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. They remain five back of the top-seeded Pistons entering Tuesday.
Up Next: The Celtics will return home Wednesday night for a home matchup against the Charlotte Hornets, then follow that up with a Friday night game against the Dallas Mavericks at TD Garden.
