The Boston Celtics' winning streak is back up to three games after they took care of business against the Milwaukee Bucks. Boston's 108-81 win in Milwaukee is their seventh win in eight games, all of which have been by double digits.
Here's what stood out:
The Shorthanded Celtics came to play
On a night with both Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta sidelined, the Celtics certainly didn’t look like a team that was down two starters. Even if they’re not explicitly mentioned in this recap, just know that everyone who took the floor for Boston brought an incredible effort.
All five starters scored in double figures, with at least five of some other stat to accompany their buckets. Even Luka Garza, who's hardly played any rotation minutes as of late, took his opportunity in stride and played at a similar level to his peak stretch through December and January.
Just as Joe Mazzulla would’ve liked, they controlled the margins to the best of their ability. The Cs battled for 19 offensive rebounds, which led to 15 second-chance points.
Boston wound up taking 21 more shots than Milwaukee did, which can be rounded down to about 16 extra attempts with free-throw attempts factored into the math.
It’s not hard to figure out that they simply wanted to win more than the Bucks, even with the re-addition of Giannis Antetokounmpo to the lineup.
Have a game, Hugo
Hugo Gonzalez got his third start of the season on Monday, as Jaylen Brown was sidelined with a non-Covid illness (or rest).
If this was someone’s first time watching the Celtics this year, they would’ve thought he was one of the team’s star players. Immediately, he made his presence known, scoring the first four points for Boston, including a loud putback slam (sort of) over Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Hugo taking OFF 🚀 pic.twitter.com/EbFDeKyxDY
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 3, 2026
The rookie played with peak energy all night, and the ball continuously found him. By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, he nearly had a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
He continued his Herculean effort in the second half en route to the best game of his young career. Gonzalez finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, and two blocks on an efficient 7-15 from the field.
Payton Pritchard is now averaging 12.5 points per game in his last two
And that’s after he went scoreless Sunday night against the Philadelphia 76ers. Payton Pritchard bounced back seamlessly in the second-leg of this Celtics back-to-back.
He did not look like a guy who couldn’t find the bottom of the net less than 24 hours prior. Pritchard took it upon himself to create for everyone, weaving in and out of traffic, and hitting Milwaukee with his entire bag of tricks.
He led Boston in scoring with 25 points off the bench to go along with nine assists.