The Boston Celtics welcomed the Milwaukee Bucks to town on Friday night for the two sides’ third and final matchup of the regular season. Since their ugly start, the Bucks have completely turned their season around. Meanwhile, the Celtics have been extremely consistent on their way to the second-best record in the East this year.
A solid first quarter for the Celtics was quickly met with a disastrous shooting quarter, as they didn’t make a single three in the second. Simultaneously, a steady diet of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard buckets kept the Bucks in stride with the Celtics. It was neck-and-neck until the bitter end, but the Celtics walked away with a 111-105 victory.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ win over the Bucks on Friday night.
Stud - Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown
An ugly shooting night plagued the Celtics throughout the first half, but Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were still their usual impactful selves. Though the threes weren’t falling at a rate he may have liked them to, they were doing everything else very well.
Even as Milwaukee actively looked to take away Boston’s three-pointers, Tatum read the defense perfectly to find Neemias Queta on a slip with a nifty pass.
Tatum also did a good job of getting to the rim in this game, once again finding gaps in a defense that was trying to prevent the Celtics’ regular attack from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, Brown’s defensive intensity left a mark on this one, including nearly forcing an eight-second violation when picking up Lillard full-court. His brief beef with Antetokounmpo in the third gave the Celtics some juice (no pun intended), too.
Add in Tatum's huge fourth quarter, and it was clear that Boston’s star duo came to play against Milwaukee.
Dud - Second-quarter shooting
Milwaukee’s valiant effort to take away the three-ball was one thing, but even when the Celtics were getting good looks from deep in the second quarter, they weren’t dropping.
They shot 0-of-12 from beyond the arc in the second. Per Dick Lipe, it snapped a 130-quarter regular season streak of consecutive periods with at least one made three.
Boston’s offensive process wasn’t terrible, but the shots just weren’t falling.
Stud - Jrue Holiday
Given the chance to go up against the team that traded him just over a year ago, Jrue Holiday shined. He gave the Celtics a little bit of everything on a night when they needed all of it.
Holiday was one of the few players on the team who didn’t struggle to make his threes, and it gave the Celtics a huge boost. He was diming up his teammates, too, propelling Boston’s offense forward.
As always, Holiday’s defense was also crucial. His ability to guard everyone from Lillard to Antetokounmpo makes him an invaluable piece for the Celtics on that end.
Highlighted by a monster first quarter and some clutch fourth-quarter buckets, Holiday was amazing on Friday night.
Dud - Derrick White
This was one of those rare nights where Derrick White just didn’t have it. His defense will always be there, so he’s never a complete dud, but his scoring punch was not in the building on Friday night.
Boston’s inability to make a three was headlined by White’s personal struggles from beyond the arc. He went the entire first half without a triple.
His four assists made up for his lack of scoring a bit, but the Celtics need his three-point production on a night-to-night basis, and it just wasn’t there against the Bucks.
Stud - Sam Hauser
Boston’s offense looked rough for most of the night. Again, their process was okay, but the shots just weren’t falling. Sam Hauser was one of the few exceptions to that fact.
Hauser gave the Celtics a nice lift with his three-point shooting, as he was efficient from deep, but it was the other stuff that was perhaps even more impressive.
Multiple times throughout the game, Hauser was able to leverage his gravity behind the three-point line into other shots. As the Bucks drove past him, trying to prevent a three, he got inside and converted for good looks from two-point range.
It was a nice, all-around effort from Hauser, especially on offense.
Dud - Payton Pritchard
Similarly to White, Payton Pritchard, who is usually one of the most consistent scorers on the Celtics, was completely off base on Friday night.
Pritchard is the runaway favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year award this season, but against the Bucks, he just couldn’t get anything to go down. Milwaukee was taking away threes, and Pritchard felt the effect.
He wasn’t necessarily bad, as his defense held up alright, but for a guy whose scoring is his best attribute, this was certainly a game to forget for Pritchard.