The Milwaukee Bucks had a few more players available on April 3 when they faced the Boston Celtics at Fiserv Forum, but the team still fell, 133-101, to the Eastern Conference contenders.
Even with the return of veterans Myles Turner, Kyle Kuzma, Gary Harris and Thanasis Antetokounmpo, the Bucks didn’t have enough firepower to keep up with Jayson Tatum and the Celtics.
The game was ultimately decided in the opening 12 minutes, as the Bucks got off to a rough start on both ends of the court. They shot just 39% overall while the Celtics shot 60% overall in a first quarter that Boston led 43-26. The lead would only grow from there.
“The way they move the ball is really flawless,” Bucks forward Taurean Prince said. “It’s hard to guard. But they just play the right way and they make us make mistakes, or any team they play, they make ’em make mistakes. They drive the ball with everybody to kind of help in off the drive and kicks and they make you pay.”
BOX SCORE: Celtics 133, Bucks 101
The Celtics (51-25) were led by Tatum, who suffered a torn Achilles in the NBA playoffs but has returned to form quickly. He scored 23 points, had 11 rebounds and handed out nine assists in the win. MVP candidate Jaylen Brown added 26 points and four other Celtics reached double figures.
Milwaukee (31-45) was led by Prince, who scored 18 points off the bench. Four other Bucks reached double figures, but the team continued to struggle offensively by shooting 42% overall from the field.
AJ Green had a nice night, however, going 5 for 9 from behind the 3-point line while Pete Nance added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
“This has not been a fun year for anybody, but watching some of our young guys develop, it has been fun,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “Watching Ryan and watching AJ, Jericho Sims, you think about guys.
“You look at our roster, we’re playing a lot of guys with minimum contracts and trying to win games and that’s hard to do. It really is.
“You know, there’s two sayings. With our young guys, they’re minimum not for a reason, they’re minimum because no one knows them. We’ve developed them. And I’m proud of that.”
Bucks suffer another big loss
Unfortunately for the Bucks, they added to their franchise record of losses by 25 or more points by notching their 13th such defeat.
In the 58-year history of the franchise, spanning 4,684 games, the Bucks have also suffered eight of its top 50 worst defeats this season:
The worst loss the franchise ever suffered was by 54 points to Chicago on April 30, 2015.
Bucks tank update
The Bucks dropped to 30-46 on the season with the loss, but the Chicago Bulls also lost on April 3 to fall to 29-48. So, the Bucks remain in 11th place in the Eastern Conference and with the 10th-worst record in the NBA.
New Orleans, which owns the right to swap draft position with the Bucks, began play on April 3 with a 25-52 record. They played Sacramento in a late game on the West Coast.
5 numbers
2: Original first-round draft picks of the Bucks still on their roster: Giannis Antetokounmpo (No. 15, 2013) and Kevin Porter Jr. (No. 30, 2019). Porter was selected and immediately dealt to Cleveland in a draft day deal. He was reacquired by the team last season.
3: Percent chance the Bucks had at winning the No. 1 pick in the draft, per the lottery-tracking web site www.tankathon.com. Unfortunately for them, they would not make that selection and it would be swapped with New Orleans as part of the 2020 Jrue Holiday trade.
7.5: Percent chance New Orleans had at winning the No. 1 pick in the lottery heading into action on April 3. The Bucks would hope for this scenario, as it would mean they could keep their own pick regardless of where it fell.
13.9: Percent chance the Bucks had at winning a top four pick in the NBA draft lottery heading into the game. If it were to slot lower in the draft order than New Orleans, however, the Pelicans would swap spots.
65.9: Percent chance the Bucks had at winning the No. 10 pick in the NBA draft lottery heading into the game, per tankathon.com. If they stay with the 10th-worst record in the league, the Bucks do not have a mathematical chance to win a pick between 5-9. The worst they could pick would be No. 12 (1.2% chance).
Darvin Ham in the coaching spotlight
Current Bucks head coach Doc Rivers has ceded some of his in-game play-calling duties to top assistant Darvin Ham, telling the Journal Sentinel on April 1, “He’s the head coach. Darvin Ham is a head coach in the NBA and should be. I’m looking at this as trying to let the world see that.”
Before the game against Boston, Rivers said Ham had jumped into huddles at times during the year, but admitted that the 52-year-old former Bucks player will likely maintain this expanded role through the end of the season on April 12.
“I may use one more coach, but Darvin and Dave [Joerger’s] been doing the offense, I thought it was a natural thing to do,” Rivers said. “He’s done more than that. He’s been in timeouts many times, just not every timeout. I love what we’re doing.”
Ham had taken a broader role for the Bucks’ win over Dallas on March 31 and that continued in Houston in a tough loss with a short-handed roster on April 1. Ham was the Los Angeles Lakers head coach from 2022-24 and went 90-74 in the regular season. The Lakers won the 2023 NBA Cup title and advanced to the Western Conference finals that year.
Is Giannis playing?
No.
The Bucks continue to hold Giannis Antetokounmpo out of games after he suffered a hyperextension of, and bone bruise in, his left knee on March 15. The game against Boston will be the 10th straight game he’s missed in 19 days. Immediately following the game in which he sustained the injury, Antetokounmpo made it clear he thought he could finish the game. And despite the Bucks saying he suffered no structural damage on March 17, the team has ruled him out.
That decision has rankled Antetokounmpo, which resulted in a statement on Antetokounmpo’s behalf from the National Basketball Players Association (March 24) and an acknowledgement from NBA commissioner Adam Silver that the league would look into it (March 25). Antetokounmpo has continued to go through extended pregame workouts, and as of April 3 the Journal Sentinel has learned the league is indeed inquiring about the injury and Antetokounmpo’s actual ability to play.
The regular season ends on April 12 in Philadelphia.
Milwaukee Bucks injury report
Bucks starters
What time is the Bucks game on?
The game is set to begin at 7 p.m. CT.
What channel is the Bucks game on?
The game will be broadcast locally on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin with Lisa Byington, Marques Johnson and Melanie Ricks on the call.
What channel will Bucks games be on next season?
It’s a great question, as news came down this week that Main Streets Sports, the parent company of FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin, will be dissolved and force the Bucks to find a temporary, one-year home for 2026-27. After that, the NBA will bundle their broadcast rights into a bigger group of teams to sell to a different network or streaming service.
According to the Sports Business Journal, the Bucks (along with all the other NBA teams currently under the Main Street Sports umbrella) did not get paid this season. Perhaps the team can recoup “as much as” 60% of its rights fees through the bankruptcy process.
Bucks vs. Celtics odds
The Celtics are 17.5-point favorites over the Bucks, with the over/under set at 217.5 points per BetMGM.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Celtics hand Bucks another big defeat, 133-101
Reporting by Jim Owczarski, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
