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Celtics put NBA on notice with dominant win over Bucks
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum. Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics entered Thursday night’s game against the Milwaukee Bucks reeling following an ugly 130-111 loss to the Washington Wizards.

For Boston, this latest loss came with a backdrop of potential drama surrounding Jaylen Brown and his future with the Celtics.

The recent issues we’ve seen in Beantown are surprising given the Celtics’ run through the Eastern Conference playoffs a season ago and their domination for a majority of the 2022-23 campaign. What should we expect from this team moving forward?

Well, Joe Mazzulla’s squad more than answered that question with a brilliant display against Giannis Antetokounmpo and a Bucks team that entered Thursday’s action with the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Playing on the road in this late-season matchup, Boston needed a win to remain alive for home-court advantage in the playoffs. After opening up an eight-point lead through 12 minutes, Boston went on a dominating 24-minute run in which it outscored the Bucks by a combined 32 points. Tatum and Brown were absolutely on one, combining for 70 points before the third quarter even came to a conclusion.

How dominant was this run for the Boston Celtics? At one point late in the third quarter, Brown and Tatum (70) had combined for more points than the Bucks (69).

Did we mention that this came against a Bucks squad that entered Thursday’s action having won 30 of 37 home games? Hell, Giannis and Co. had dropped a combined 253 points over the past two games.

Even with the starters resting in the final stanza, Boston opened up a 46-point lead against the Bucks. In the end, it resulted in a brilliant 140-99 Celtics win.

Boston Celtics domination could be a sign of things to come

One win might not mean a whole lot within the confines of an 82-game season. But when that win comes by 41 points with just six games remaining in the regular season, it matters a lot more. When it comes against a team in the Bucks most believe is headed to the NBA Finals, that’s taken to a whole new level.

Again, there’s a certain backdrop to all of this. It includes drama involving Brown and the organization. Back on March 21, Brown told The Ringer‘s Logan Murdock:

“I don’t know. As long as I’m needed. It’s not up to me. We’ll see how they feel about me over time and I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I’m wanted. I will stay where I’m needed and treated correct.”

One game is not going to cure all of the ills that have plagued the Celtics at times this season. But it will go a long way to muting them for another potential run to the NBA Finals.

From an on-court perspective, everything came together for the Boston Celtics Thursday night. Acquired in a blockbuster trade from the Indiana Pacers this past summer, guard Malcolm Brogdon continued to play at a high level on the second team. He finished plus-41 in just 27 minutes of action while shooting 6-of-13 from the field.

Veteran big man Al Horford was plus-30 in 22 minutes of action while chipping in 14 points. As we saw during last year’s playoff run, Horford can be an important player for Boston in the clutch. Marcus Smart dished out eight of Boston’s 28 assists without turning the ball over.

From a broader perspective, Boston now finds itself just two games out of the top seed in the Eastern Conference. It has games coming up against the Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors (twice) and Atlanta Hawks to conclude the regular season.

Milwaukee must go up against the 76ers, Wizards, Bulls, Grizzlies and Raptors to conclude its regular season. Now that Boston has earned the tiebreaker via the season series win over the Bucks, the ante has been upped some.

This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission.

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