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Thanks to a dominant display in Milwaukee in a 140-99 victory, the Celtics, now 53-24, improved what was already the second-best record in the NBA and won their season series against the Bucks.

With the defending Eastern Conference champions two games behind Milwaukee with five left in the regular season, most likely, they'll finish second in the standings.

Still, performances like last night, reinforcing winning habits as the playoffs approach, is important and instill confidence. It's one thing to believe, it's another to accomplish.

Boston can also draw conviction from its 16-7 record against the nine other teams in the top 10 in point differential, per Cleaning the Glass. The Celtics are also 30-14 against above .500 teams.

And while playing down to sub .500 opponents is why they're likely to have to go through the Sixers and the Bucks to get back to the NBA Finals, without home court against the latter, they're also 16-8 on the road against teams .500 or better. That puts Boston at the top of the leaderboard in that category too.

So, the Celtics, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown taking their games to a higher level than a season ago, whether it's the former's impact as a screener, his improvement in the low post, and having a career year on the boards (8.9 rebounds). Or the latter's refined mid-range game. Plus, with the addition of Malcolm Brogdon, and Derrick White's career year, this team has plenty of reasons to cite why it's better than the one that came within two wins of a championship last year.

Just ask Jaylen Brown.

"I think we're a better team than we were last year," stated Brown after finishing with 30 points, five assists, and five rebounds in Boston's victory vs. the Bucks.

"I think we won more games than we did last year, and overall, we haven't dropped the ball. We might've lost some games, but we didn't let a bad game turn into a bad two weeks or a bad month. We've been able to pretty much bounce back. We've been pretty consistent all year. You would think we haven't been, but all we've gotta do is just continue to play basketball, take care of details, hone in, and try to reach our full potential. And it's never too late for stuff like that, and tonight was a great win."

After Tuesday's 19-point loss to the Wizards, Tatum conveyed his focus was on how the Celtics bounced back on Thursday.

He drilled 8/10 threes and registered a game-high 40 points against the Bucks. It's the four-time All-Star's 22nd tilt where he scored at least 40, passing Paul Pierce for the second-most in franchise history.

Post-game, Tatum expressed, "we responded well from the jump, and that’s all that I wanted and all that we wanted as a team, regardless of if we won or not."

Combining for 70 points, Boston's All-Star duo became the first tandem to have a season with ten games where they each scored at least 30 since Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant in 2002-03.

Following the win, Al Horford, who produced 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists, said of Tatum and Brown, "they had a different look in their eyes; they both did. Clear-headed, making, I feel like the right play every time, and this was a special one for them."

In a recent conversation with J.J. Redick and Tommy Alter on The Old Man & the Three podcast, the Celtics' veteran leader shared his first impressions of Brown and Tatum when they entered the league.

Post-game on Thursday, when asked how different those two are this season, Horford offered the following to NBC Sports Boston's Abby Chin.

"Much different. (They're) continuing to grow, and I feel like they're really doing a good job playing off one another and getting us involved. And just everything that's asked of them, they're being conscious of doing that. And the growth, it's evident this year, they definitely have grown a lot."

A part of that maturation is quickly turning the page and focusing on the next game, which for Boston is Friday night at TD Garden against the Jazz, who beat the Celtics by one in Salt Lake City about two weeks ago.

"Tonight was a good win on the road, but they all count as one," expressed Tatum. "We’ve got to put tonight behind us and come out with the same energy and focus tomorrow."

Further Reading

Celtics Discuss Dominating Performance in 140-99 Win Over Bucks

Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Bucks: Boston Sends a Message in Blowout Victory

Al Horford Shares His First Impressions of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum

Al Horford Discusses Jayson Tatum's Ability to Stay Locked in Even When He's Struggling

Former Warriors' Director of Performance Keke Lyles Shares His Perspective on Load Management, Changing Stephen Curry's Movement Patterns, And What's Helped Jayson Tatum's Durability

Jaylen Brown Addresses Non-Committal Comments About Celtics' Future: 'I'm Focused on Helping Lead My Team for Another Playoff Run'