The Boston Celtics dethroned the Milwaukee Bucks 108-81 to spoil Giannis Antetokounmpo’s return on Monday night.
Payton Pritchard scored 25 points and nine assists while rookie Hugo Gonzales had career highs of 18 points and 16 rebounds.
Derrick White also scored 18 points and nine assists for the Celtics, as they have won three straight and seven of eight.
On the other hand, Antetokounmpo had 19 points and 11 rebounds in 25 minutes in his first action since getting injured on January 23. Milwaukee went 8-7 during his absence.
The Bucks are 15-16 with Antetokounmpo and 11-18 without him.
The Celtics were short-handed as All-Star Jaylen Brown was sidelined due to an illness, while also resting center Neemias Queta.
Gonzales started for just the third time, being the 28th overall pick in the 2025 draft and averaging 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds.
Boston went on a 24-5 run that started late in the first and carried over to the second as they turned a 15-14 deficit into a 38-20 lead.
The Celtics led by 22 before carrying a 57-43 edge into halftime. Milwaukee cut the margin to nine early in the second half, but Boston responded with 15 straight points.
The Bucks have lost their last three games, all by at least 23 points.
Both teams will play home games on Wednesday: the Celtics host Charlotte while the Bucks host the Hawks.
