Celtics conclude homestand against slumping Bucks
The Boston Celtics hope leading scorer Jaylen Brown can return to action Sunday when they wrap up a four-game homestand with a visit from the Milwaukee Bucks.
Brown sat out Friday night's 112-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings with a sore hamstring. Payton Pritchard scored a game-high 29 points in the win, which improved Boston's record to 2-1 on the homestand. The Celtics scored 72 points in the first half and earned their eighth wire-to-wire victory of the season.
Brown is averaging 29.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game this season.
"It's important that he gets the rest that he needs, and it's important that we continue to grow and develop as a team," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "Regardless of who's in, who's out, the expectation is to win."
Boston center Neemias Queta did not play in Wednesday's 117-106 loss to the Atlanta Hawks due an illness but returned against the Kings and had 10 points and 15 rebounds in just under 29 minutes of playing time. Boston picked up Queta in 2023 after Sacramento released him.
"He's a great player ... I would say at both ends of the floor," Mazzulla said. "Defensively, his ability to protect the rim (and) our ability to cross-match when he's out there. Offensively, his screening against different coverages (and) his offensive rebounding. He's grown and developed into a very important player for us and you can see the difference when we have him."
Milwaukee is on a four-game losing streak. The Bucks have been playing while rumors swirl about superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo being moved on or before the Feb. 5 trade deadline.
Antetokounmpo, 31, is averaging 28.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 30 games this season but sustained a calf strain during a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Jan. 23 and isn't expected to play again until late February at the earliest.
Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks to the NBA championship in 2021, is the franchise's all-time leader in games played (889), points (21,377), rebounds (8,831), assists (4,456) and blocked shots (1,086).
Myles Turner had 21 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots during Milwaukee's 109-99 loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday. It was the team's seventh loss in its last eight games.
"He was active ... two games in a row," Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers said of Turner. "He's starting to feel good about his game. He's starting to do the things we thought he can do, so I'm very happy with Myles."
Turner said a lack of offensive rebounding and mental mistakes that lead to turnovers have plagued the Bucks in the last few games.
"We're playing the right basketball, the right way to win games, but it's the margins that I think we're losing right now," Turner said. "That's something only we can control ourselves. In order to get where we want to go you can't be doing that stuff. Creating those habits."
The Bucks were also without Antetokounmpo when they beat the Celtics 116-101 at home on Dec. 11 in the only previous meeting between the teams this season. Kyle Kuzma (31 points) and Bobby Portis (27) were Milwaukee's leading scorers in that game.