Damian Lillard #0 of the Milwaukee Bucks drives against Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics in the first quarter at TD Garden on March 20, 2024 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images.))
BOSTON – Jayson Tatum scored 31 points on Wednesday night to help the Boston Celtics win their eighth game in a row, defeating the Milwaukee Bucks 122-119. 

Boston’s Payton Pritchard contributed 19 points and six rebounds off the bench, including 10 points in the second quarter, which matched Milwaukee’s total. In the second quarter, he also collected four rebounds, including an offensive board that he stole away from Brook Lopez, who is a full foot taller. 
Derrick White finished with 23 points and eight assists, while Jaylen Brown had 21 points and eight rebounds for Boston.

Damian Lillard scored 32 points, including a three-pointer in the waning seconds. Bobby Portis had 24 points and 15 rebounds for the Bucks, who had won two straight. 

Although the game was between Eastern Conference division leaders, the Celtics had an 11-game lead over the second-seeded Bucks in the race for home-court advantage. Any additional excitement in the potential postseason preview was dashed when Antetokounmpo was ruled out for the second game in a row with a left hamstring injury.
It was 10 all when the Celtics scored 13 of the next 15 points to take an 11-point advantage. The Bucks trimmed it to two at the conclusion of the first quarter, but Boston utilized a 21-8 run in the second quarter, including 10 points by Pritchard, to take an 18-point advantage.

Pritchard, who was likely irritated by Milwaukee’s Patrick Beverley’s “too small” gesture, had the most assists (three) and rebounds (four) in the quarter, including one board he stole off Lopez. Frustrated, the 7-foot-1 center pushed him away in disdain.

Pritchard celebrated by flexing his biceps and shaking hands with Kristaps Porzingis, while Tatum waved his arms to encourage the fans, which rose to give the 6-foot-1 point guard a standing ovation.
Boston led by as many as 21 points, but the Bucks didn’t come inside single digits until the final minutes, when they scored 10 straight points — eight of them from Portis, including back-to-back deep 3-pointers — to cut a 13-point lead to one possession.

But after Portis missed a three-pointer, Tatum made two free throws before driving for a layup to make it 114-107 with 1:38 remaining.

Antetokounmpo also missed the Bucks’ 140-129 home win against Phoenix on Sunday. He has missed five games this season and Milwaukee is 3-2 without him.

This season, the 29-year-old Greek star is third in the NBA in scoring (30.8), sixth in rebounding (11.2), and 15th in assists (6.4).