Bucks at Celtics
The Milwaukee Bucks knocked off one top Eastern Conference contender to keep their unbeaten start intact and will try to pull the trick again when they visit the Boston Celtics on Thursday. The Bucks pulled out a 124-109 win over the Toronto Raptors in a battle of unbeatens on Monday despite being without superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Antetokounmpo is in the concussion protocol and remains questionable for Thursday, but Milwaukee spread out the points with seven scorers in double figures and locked down on the defensive end in the 124-109 win over the Raptors. "We have a strong belief in this locker room that we are a great team," veteran center Brook Lopez told ESPN.com. "We are more than a collection of players -- more than one player or a few players. We are a team." The Celtics are a team as well and are proving they can win when a key player or two has an off night. Boston forwards Gordon Hayward and Jayson Tatum combined to go 7-of-22 from the floor on Tuesday but Boston still escaped with a 108-105 win over Detroit.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT
ABOUT THE BUCKS (7-0): Milwaukee is the last unbeaten team remaining in the NBA and coach Mike Budenholzer, who is in his first season with the team, is getting plenty of credit. "Of course, we have more confidence with (Antetokounmpo) on the floor, but we have a lot of confidence even when he’s not on the floor due to the system, due to the confidence that (Budenholzer) gives us," Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon told reporters. Budenholzer encourages ball movement and gives everyone on the court the green light to shoot, leading to centers Lopez and Thon Maker going a combined 3-of-9 from 3-point range on Monday.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (5-2): Boston point guard Kyrie Irving managed a season-low three points on 1-of-5 shooing on Saturday, but the team still managed to win, and on Tuesday it was his turn to pick up the slack for some of his teammates. Irving broke out for a season-best 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting in 33 minutes. "Law of averages," Celtics coach Brad Stevens told reporters of Irving's performance. "Law of averages, which means he’s got a few more coming, right? So, I mean, he’s way too good of a scorer for the ball not to go in very long, and that stuff all evens out all the time. ... He’s doing a great job of leading, and the ball will go through the net. That's inevitable."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bucks PF Ersan Ilyasova recorded his first double-double of 2018-19 with a season-high 19 points and 10 rebounds on Monday.
2. Celtics PF Daniel Theis (right plantar fascia) is out indefinitely.
3. Boston knocked Milwaukee out of the playoffs with a 4-3 series win in the first round last spring.