The red-hot Boston Celtics look to keep the good times rolling when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks, who are playing without Giannis Antetokounmpo, on Thursday night.
Since neither team qualified for the NBA Cup quarterfinals, Milwaukee and Boston come into the game well rested, with four and three days off, respectively.
Despite not qualifying, Boston enters the matchup having won five in a row and 10 of its last 12 games. The Celtics pulled off a tight 121-113 road win over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Jaylen Brown led Boston, as he’s done all season long, with 30 points, along with eight rebounds. Derrick White also stepped up with 27 points, and both players had five assists.
Brown was right around his average of 29.1 points per game for the season. White leads the team with an average of 5.3 assists, while Neemias Queta tops the charts in the paint with 8.2 rebounds.
The break couldn’t have come at a better time for Milwaukee, which has done the exact opposite of Boston, losing 10 of its last 12. Six of those games came without Antetokounmpo, and he played only three minutes in another.
The Bucks last played on Saturday, when they failed to replicate a recent home win over Detroit and lost 124-112 on the road against the Pistons.
Kevin Porter Jr. continued his hot streak since returning from a knee injury, scoring 32 points and dishing six assists. Kyle Kuzma added 15 points and Myles Turner scored 12, all in the first quarter, while only taking one shot inside the 3-point arc.
“I think (Turner’s first season as a Buck) has gone OK, not great yet. Myles is going to be way better later than he is now,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “He’s been in one place (Indiana) for 10 years. It’s going to take a minute. Yet he’s still very positive in the locker room, and the plus-minus numbers are all plus when he’s on the floor.”
Porter Jr. is up to 21.8 points and just shy of six assists per night in his six games played, providing a much-needed boost for Milwaukee without Antetokounmpo. Ryan Rollins averages 17.5 points and six assists.
Rivers said he expects Antetokounmpo to need closer to four weeks rather than two to recover from his calf injury, which would keep him out until the end of December. AJ Green (shoulder) did not practice for Milwaukee on Tuesday but is day-to-day and could play Thursday.
Boston’s injury report is clean, outside of Jayson Tatum (Achilles), who has not yet been ruled out of the season after suffering the injury in last year’s playoffs, sparking interest given Boston currently sits third in the Eastern Conference.
“It’s all up to him. At the end of the day, his health is the most important thing,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “To me, the only thing I care about is his presence and his leadership. He’s doing that in different ways.”
Boston won twice at home and also beat Milwaukee on the road last year to sweep the three-game season set.
With Thursday’s game added due to the NBA Cup results, the series will be expanded to four games this year.
