Jayson Tatum scored 34 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, helping the Boston Celtics extend their home winning streak to seven games with a 111-105 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
Boston used a 10-2 run to take a 105-101 lead with 1:29 remaining, and Jrue Holiday hit a jump shot to give the Celtics a 107-102 advantage with 25.6 seconds left. Holiday finished with 20 points and made two free throws to extend Boston’s lead to 109-105 with 14.9 seconds remaining.
Jaylen Brown added 25 points for Boston, which was outrebounded 51-41 and shot 32.1 percent from three-point range (17 of 53). Derrick White struggled, going 0-for-8 from three-point range and 1-for-10 overall, scoring six points.
Damian Lillard led Milwaukee with 31 points, and Giannis Antetokounmpo contributed 30 points and 11 rebounds. Bobby Portis added nine points and 18 rebounds.
Khris Middleton made his season debut for the Bucks, coming off the bench to score 11 points, five assists, and two steals in 23 minutes. He had missed the start of the season due to ankle surgeries during the offseason.
Milwaukee’s Taurean Prince, who had been questionable due to illness, played only nine minutes in the first half and didn’t return for the second half. Gary Trent Jr. replaced him, scoring 11 points.
Kristaps Porzingis did not play for Boston due to injury management. He is averaging 21.0 points and 7.8 rebounds in the four games he has played this season.
Boston led 29-27 after the first quarter, but Milwaukee took a 57-53 lead at halftime. The Bucks trailed most of the first half until Trent hit a three-pointer that gave them a 46-45 lead with 3:33 left in the second quarter.
Lillard scored 20 points in the first half, while Boston missed all 12 of its three-point attempts in the second quarter.
Milwaukee ended the third quarter on a 5-0 run and led 82-78 heading into the final quarter.
This was the third and final regular-season matchup between the two teams, with Boston winning all three games.
