Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images
Thursday night was a scary sight for the rest of the Eastern Conference as the Boston Celtics laid an absolute smackdown on the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum, coming away with a 140-99 win.
It couldn’t have come at a better time either as both teams are down to their last handful of games of the regular season. It was also the final regular-season meeting between the two teams, with the Celtics winning the season series 2-1.
That kind of beatdown will certainly be lingering in the back of both teams’ minds if they do end up meeting in the postseason.
Perhaps the best sign for Boston that came out of Thursday night was Jayson Tatum’s performance, as he dropped 40 points with eight rebounds on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 8-of-10 from beyond the arc.
It was his best three-point shooting performance of the year as his previous high was 66.7 percent.
Not to be forgotten, Jaylen Brown dropped 30 points of his own as Boston’s star duo had their way with Milwaukee’s defense all night.
The game was pretty much over at halftime after the Celtics outscored the Bucks 41-21 in the second quarter to take a 28-point lead into the locker room, and they never took their foot off the gas.
Thursday’s performance looked much more like the team that was the class of the NBA to start the season and may be exactly what Boston needs to spark another special run in the postseason.
The game had NBA Twitter reevaluating what it thought of both teams heading into the playoffs.
Boston Celtics @celtics
Statement. Made. pic.twitter.com/MUmSY1ovGK
Boston Celtics @celtics
JT’s going nuclear ☢️ pic.twitter.com/X2w5Wgr2mM
Kevin Walsh Jr. @TheKevinWalsh
The Celtics having Milwaukee and Philly’s number seems PRETTY ideal for them
Mike Gwizdala @MikeGwizdala
If the #Celtics play at this level in the playoffs, they’re going to be tough to beat. https://t.co/g9iTN632dO
Mike Cronin Jr. @MikeCroninWMUR
Celtics are winning the title if they play like this in the playoffs
Hacksaw Stim Duggan @DanteLaSoul
Celtics are the best team in the East when they stay motivated and stop taking minutes off
Bleacher Report @BleacherReport
Celtics dropped 75 PTS in the first half 😳 pic.twitter.com/xvMd0wdSoX
Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan @NekiasNBA
1) This is an *incredible* effort from the celtics tonight. utter dominance. Superb shot-making, switching flattened out MIL, drives really hurt. Highlights some weakpoints for MIL.
2) THIS IS WHY WE SHOULDN’T HAVE THIS MATCHUP WITH A TEAM ON THE SECOND NIGHT OF A BACK TO BACK
Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
Long way to go, but even if the Celtics don’t catch the Bucks for the 1 seed a game like this could at least reaffirm that winning a playoff game in Milwaukee is hardly an impossible task.
CelticsWRLD @CelticsWRLD17
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown tonight pic.twitter.com/l5Z3hLn6uY
Lord Second @Regelitoo
Every time the Celtics hit a 3 pic.twitter.com/VF6NxTQpGC
CelticsWorld @WorldOfCeltics
Joe Mazzulla was the Celtics defensive mastermind and just waited until now to reveal it
Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
30 for 30
This is the 30th time since 2001 the Celtics have taken a 30-point lead on the road.
(The first against a team with the NBA’s best record.)
Perhaps even more impressive than what they did on the offensive end of the floor was the job the Celtics did on Giannis Antetokounmpo defensively. They contained one of the league’s best players after he scored 38 on Wednesday.
Antetokounmpo finished with just 24 points on 11-of-27 shooting and had to work for everything he got. Nothing came easy as Boston consistently threw two bodies at him and never let the two-time MVP get into any sort of rhythm.
The Athletic NBA @TheAthleticNBA
“Gimme that.”
Robert Williams ❌ Giannis Antetokounmpo pic.twitter.com/8d6bzUqmqZ
StatMuse @statmuse
The Bucks had scored 100+ points in 33 straight games entering tonight.
The Celtics held them to 99 points. pic.twitter.com/IBmo0joCKi
The gap at the top of the East is now down to just two games with five games remaining as the Celtics just took a huge step toward potentially taking the top seed back. They don’t have the most difficult matchups down the stretch either.
Aside from a game against the 76ers on April 4, the Jazz, Raptors (twice) and Hawks are the teams left on Boston’s schedule, none of which have a winning record.
Meanwhile the Bucks still have games against Philadelphia and Memphis looming.
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