The visiting Boston Celtics will try to defeat the Milwaukee Bucks for the second time this season when the teams meet on Sunday afternoon.
Jaylen Brown scored 30 points and Payton Pritchard came off the bench for 28 points with eight 3-pointers as Boston defeated Milwaukee 119-108 on October 28. The Bucks led 80-79 before the Celtics went on an 18-2 run that started late in the third quarter and extended into the fourth.
Brown’s status for Sunday’s game is uncertain. He has not played in Boston’s last four games because of a strained left hip flexor. The Celtics were also without center Luke Kornet in Friday night’s 108-104 overtime win against the Brooklyn Nets because of tightness in his right nose.
“They’re day by day, like the rest of us,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Brown is getting better. It’s getting a little better every day. He’s getting there.”
Damian Lillard led the Bucks with 33 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in Boston’s loss. Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Milwaukee ended a six-game losing streak by beating the Utah Jazz 123-100 on Thursday, but fell 116-94 to the New York Knicks on the road on Friday night.
Antetokounmpo scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against the Knicks, but was clearly frustrated by Milwaukee’s level of effort during the loss, which dropped Milwaukee’s road record to 1 -5.
“At the end of the day, we have to compete,” Antetokounmpo said after Friday’s game. “Teams aren’t just going to give us games. They’re not going to feel bad for us.”
“We’ve got to compete on every possession. Everything, we’ve got to put somebody on the court and make big plays. But we’re not competing at all… We’ve got Boston in two days. If we don’t compete, we’re going to lose by 30”.
Boston’s overtime win over Brooklyn on Friday came two days after the Celtics suffered a 118-112 home loss to the Golden State Warriors. Jayson Tatum had 33 points and nine rebounds in Friday’s win. Pritchard finished with 20 points, including six in overtime.
“It was one of those ugly games where you have to fight hard,” Mazzulla said. “We missed some things that we need to improve on, but we had to earn every basket. We had to earn the basket on both ends of the court, and I think we did that, especially towards the end of the game.”
The Celtics made 26.4 percent of their 3-pointers against Brooklyn, their lowest percentage of the season (14 of 53). Sam Hauser was 2 of 10 from 3-point range and Derrick White was 1 of 6 from behind the arc.
“I don’t think it’s too hard (to be confident), just knowing the type of shooters we have,” Boston’s Al Horford said. on this every day, and these are the pictures we have to make.”
“We had a lot of good opportunities and you just have to take advantage of them and trust the process. And I always think about our work, our preparation when we hit a bump like this.”
— Field level media
2024-11-09 19:48:00
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