Payton Pritchard came off the bench to make eight 3-pointers and score 28 points in 28 minutes as the Boston Celtics remained unbeaten after four games with a 119-108 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Monday.
Pritchard made 10 of his 14 field-goal attempts, including 8 of 12 from long distance. He also finished the game with five rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Jaylen Brown led Boston with 30 points. Jrue Holiday (21), Jayson Tatum (15), Derrick White (13) and Al Horford (10) also scored in double figures for the Celtics. Tatum had a team-high eight rebounds, all of which came on the defensive end of the floor.
Damian Lillard led Milwaukee with 33 points and seven assists. Lillard made 17 of 18 free throw attempts, and he grabbed seven rebounds.
Giannis Antetokounmpo added 30 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Bucks, but he also committed seven turnovers. Brook Lopez contributed 13 points and Gary Trent Jr. had 10 for Milwaukee, which has lost three in a row since opening the season with a victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Trent’s 3-pointer beat the buzzer and gave the Bucks a 29-28 advantage after one quarter, and Milwaukee had a 56-53 lead at halftime. Pritchard made five of his eight 3-point attempts in the first two quarters and led all scorers with 19 points at halftime.
Neither team led by more than five points until a Brown layup put Boston in front 67-61 with 8:27 left in the third quarter, but Milwaukee responded with a 12-3 run to take a 73-70 lead.
An 8-0 run gave the Celtics an 87-80 lead, and Pritchard’s last-second 3-pointer put Boston in front 90-82 entering the final quarter.
Pritchard hit a trey with 10:55 to play and Brown followed with a hoop that capped an 18-2 run and handed the Celtics a 97-82 lead with 10:23 to go. The Bucks failed to get closer than eight points after that.
Boston’s lead peaked at 18 points.
