Celtics Hold Off Bucks 109-102 as Derrick White Closes After 22-Point Lead Slips Away

The Boston Celtics led the Milwaukee Bucks by 22 points at halftime Wednesday night, then needed a late push from Derrick White and Paul George to win 109-102 at TD Garden. Jayson Tatum had the night off.

Boston is now 6-2. Milwaukee, which came in at 1-6, fell to 1-7.

How the Bucks came back

Boston’s defense controlled the first half. The Celtics held Milwaukee to 14 points in the first quarter, which the team called its best defensive quarter of the season, and led by as many as 22.

The third quarter belonged to Milwaukee. The Bucks scored 38 points and won the quarter by 12. Tyler Herro led the charge. A RotoWire game note on CBS Sports said he scored 17 of his 25 points in that quarter. Milwaukee took its first lead of the night when Nate Ament made a free throw with 6:50 left in the game.

Derrick White takes over

White scored 11 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. He went 7-for-7 at the free-throw line in that quarter, which the Celtics said tied his career high for made free throws in a quarter. He scored seven of Boston’s final 10 points.

With the score tied at 97, Neemias Queta put Boston ahead for good on a driving layup set up by George. The key play came next. White’s late-clock shot barely hit the rim, and Queta and Milwaukee’s Myles Turner fought for the ball on the floor. Baylor Scheierman came up with it along the baseline and found a cutting White, who scored and drew a foul for a 3-point play.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. then missed two free throws for Milwaukee. White scored on a driving floater, George hit a step-back 3, and White closed it out at the line. Back-to-back missed 3s by Herro and Green ended the Bucks’ last chance, according to NBC Sports Boston.

Bucks vs. Celtics player stats

Boston won the rebounding battle 54-45, including 19-11 on the offensive glass. Three Celtics had double-digit rebounds: Queta with 12, Scheierman with 11 and Mitchell Robinson with 10. Robinson had six of his on the offensive end. Both teams shot better than 40% from 3-point range.

What they said

Coach Joe Mazzulla talked about what George means to the team: “We need the best version of him for us to be a great team, and I think you were able to see that tonight.”

On NBC Sports Boston’s postgame show, Brian Scalabrine praised Queta’s development, calling his basketball IQ “off the charts.”

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