Bucks Zone

What we learned from the Milwaukee Bucks' demolition of the Boston Celtics

The Bucks played with more urgency and energy, blowing out the Celtics in spectacular fashion.
Jonas Panerio|
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The Milwaukee Bucks broke out of their funk and took all their frustrations out on the Boston Celtics, coming away with a 135-102 victory on Thursday at the Fiserv Forum. Here are two takeaways from the lopsided contest.

Bucks had fun

The Bucks heard all the criticisms from talking heads and fans alike during their recent struggles, but they didn't let it get to them. Instead, they stuck together and put on a show against the Celtics. Apparently, nobody had more fun than reserve forward Bobby Portis, who tallied a game-high 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting and 12 rebounds.

“I’m just happy to get a win, man. We were in a funk to start the year. We didn’t have anything good going for us,” Portis said.

“It was good to see our defense going, see the offense, see the ball hopping, see everybody having fun again. That’s the biggest thing. You play this game, and you obviously want to be locked in on the game plan, but you also do want to have fun as well, and we had that tonight.”

Played with more urgency

Giannis Antetokounmpo had been harping about the importance of playing with more effort and urgency. On Thursday, his teammates heard their leader loud and clear, coming out of the games with intense focus and energy, building a 41-23 lead after the first quarter, which eventually grew to 37, 75-38, at halftime.

“There was more urgency coming into the game,” Antetokounmpo, who had 24 points, 12 rebounds, and six assists, said.

“Losing four out of five games, being down in the first half 30 to Utah. We watched the film, and we had to be better. We had to play better. We had a great practice, talked about things we could do better. Guys were more urgent today.”

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Jonas Panerio
JONAS PANERIO