The return of Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn't enough to get the Bucks past the Celtics.
The return of Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn't enough to get the Bucks past the Celtics.Aaron Gash/Associated Press
MILWAUKEE — At this point in this stunning Celtics season all of Joe Mazzulla’s decisions are turning into right ones. He decided to leave Jaylen Brown and Neemias Queta back in Boston for this difficult back-to-back with the Bucks and his team responded with another sparkling performance, especially rookie Hugo Gonzalez.
Assigned the responsibility of defending Giannis Antetokounmpo for the first time in his NBA career, Gonzalez fared admirably. He then notched career highs with 18 points and 16 rebounds while Payton Pritchard came back with a vengeance from his first scoreless game in a year.
The result was a 108-81 win over the Bucks as the Celtics led for the final 41:07. Pritchard led the Celtics with 25 points to go with 9 assists and 4 rebounds after missing all four of his field goal attempts in Sunday’s win over Philadelphia.
The playoff-desperate Bucks announced the return of Antetokounmpo after he missed six weeks with a calf strain and while he showed flashes of vintage form, he couldn’t will Milwaukee into contention alone. He finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds in 26 minutes but the Celtics’ defense made him work.
Milwaukee clawed to within 77-65 late in the third quarter but the Celtics countered with a 22-4 run behind Pritchard’s 3-point shooting for a 30-point lead with 4:48 left. Derrick White added 18 points and Sam Hauser scored 14 as Boston won for the 12th time in 14 games.
In a game of runs, the Celtics countered a 10-2 Bucks surge with a 15-0 rally with triples from Gonzalez and Hauser and another running layup from Gonzalez for a 24-point lead with 6:22 left in the third.
But the Celtics’ offense had trouble putting the Bucks away and yielded yet another run, 15-3, behind two 3-pointers from reserve Pete Nance. But the hustle of White helped the Celtics score six points in the final 58.9 seconds to take control entering the fourth quarter.
Gonzalez already eclipsed his career highs in points and rebounds through three periods. The Celtics were also able to win the minutes with Antetokounmpo on the floor, who was a minus-7.
Besides Antetokounmpo and an early flurry from Ousmane Dieng, the Bucks received little from their starting lineup, including just one field goal from major free-agent signee Myles Turner.
The presence of Antetokounmpo presented a major challenge for the new-look Celtics. Al Horford had been their primary defender of the Milwaukee strongman over the years, but he’s in Golden State. So the Celtics tried throwing bodies at Antetokounmpo and it worked at times and didn’t in others.
He was able to get to the rim with force and scored 11 first-half points in 14 first-half minutes on 4-for-7 shooting. He attempted six free throws.
The Celtics countered with ball movement and 3-point shooting and began the second period on a 22-10 run with triples from Pritchard, Hauser, and Gonzalez, getting the start in place of Jaylen Brown. Back-to-back threes from White gave the Celtics a 52-30 lead with 6:26 left in the half. But the offense sputtered and couldn’t build on the lead.
The Bucks ended the with a 13-5 run to keep within striking distance but the Celtics, without two starters, still led the Bucks 57-43 at the break. Gonzalez, making plays and making mistakes at times, scored 10 points. He attempted a pull-up 3-pointer off a fastbreak in that second-quarter skid and Joe Mazzulla immediately opted for Jordan Walsh to finish the half.
Milwaukee used a pair of buckets from newcomer Dieng to jump out to a 7-0 lead. The Celtics got buckets from Gonzalez and triples from White and Hauser for a 10-0 run and forged ahead with a late first-period run with Luka Garza, getting backup center minutes with Neemias Queta resting, getting a putback bucket and Hauser a putback floater for a 30-20 lead.
Encouraging for the Celtics was the response from Pritchard, who went scoreless Sunday for the first time since January 2025. He scored 11 points in the first half and appeared more energetic than in the win over Philadelphia.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.