By Tiffany Williams –
It was a statement win in Milwaukee.
At Fiserv Forum on Monday, the Boston Celtics dismantled the Milwaukee Bucks 108-81. Final. No drama. No late push. Just domination.
Boston led for 90 percent of the night. The largest lead ballooned to 31. Milwaukee’s biggest edge was seven. That tells you everything.
The Celtics shot 41-95 from the field and buried 20 threes on 50 attempts, good for 40 percent. They owned the glass 54-41, including a bruising 19 offensive rebounds that kept possessions alive and crushed any Bucks momentum. They handed out 31 assists to Milwaukee’s 18. Cleaner. Sharper. More connected.
Payton Pritchard erupted for 25 points in 34 minutes off the bench, shooting 10-23 and 5-10 from deep while adding nine assists. Derrick White poured in 18 points and nine assists despite shooting 5-18. H. Gonzalez delivered 18 points and a monster 16 rebounds in 35 minutes, controlling the interior. Sam Hauser knocked down four threes and finished plus-16.
This was balance and depth overwhelming star power.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 25 minutes but shot 7-18 and finished minus-16. Milwaukee shot just 27-74 overall, 36 percent from the field. They hit 13-36 from three and actually shot better from the line at 14-19, but it didn’t matter. They turned it over 16 times and conceded 19 offensive boards. That’s how you get run off your own floor.
Bobby Portis added 12 off the bench but was minus-21. Kyle Kuzma went 2-11 and finished minus-23. The Bucks had 22 points in the paint. Boston had 34. Physical gap. Execution gap. Urgency gap.
The Celtics didn’t just win. They controlled tempo, spacing and effort from start to finish. Milwaukee never found a sustained counter.
Around the league Monday night, the Houston Rockets beat the Washington Wizards 123-118 behind 32 points from Alperen Sengun, while Bilal Coulibaly scored 23 in the loss. The Denver Nuggets edged the Utah Jazz 128-125 as Jamal Murray exploded for 45, with Keyonte George scoring 36. The Los Angeles Clippers topped the Golden State Warriors 114-101, Kawhi Leonard leading with 23 while Brandin Podziemski had 22.
But the loudest message came out of Milwaukee. Boston 108. Milwaukee 81. A 27-point hammer.