Final: Celtics 87, Bucks 56. Goodbye, losing streak. The Celtics have ended their two-game skid, and they've made history in the process.
The C's have allowed only 56 points in a single game, a new all-time franchise record. It also snaps the Bucks' record low for points scored, which previously stood at 58.
What an incredible defensive performance.
Five Celtics finish in double figures, led by Ray Allen with 17. Nenad Krstic adds 11 points and 14 rebounds, his second straight double-double. Troy Murphy breaks out of his funk with 12 points and seven boards in garbage time.
No one did anything of note for the Bucks. Seriously.
The C's head straight to New Jersey now. They take on the Nets Monday night.
Fourth quarter, 2:54, Celtics 79-53: Congratulations to the Bucks, who have obliterated the 50-point mark and thus dodged the NBA's all-time record for fewest points in a game.
Their all-time franchise low is 58 points. The Celtics' low for points allowed is 57.
The Bucks are close to avoiding infamy, but they've still got to fight for these last couple of buckets.
Fourth quarter, 5:28, Celtics 75-45: The Elias Sports bureau has informed the Celtics' pressroom that the C's set a franchise record for the shot-clock era by allowing only 38 points in three quarters.
It would take a heck of an effort, though, for the C's to hold the Bucks under 49. That's the NBA's all-time mark for fewest points in a game.
Fourth quarter, 9:22, Celtics 68-39: Glen Davis knocks down a pair of jumpers, leading the Celtics to an 8-1 run to open the fourth quarter. Big Baby is the 10th Celtic to score tonight.
The Celtics are really piling it on. They're not going to let up now — these guys on the second unit are all competing for minutes off Doc Rivers' bench, so they're all going to work hard.
This is bad for the Bucks. Really bad.
Perhaps historically bad.
End of third quarter, Celtics 60-38: That's an entertaining final five seconds of the quarter — first Larry Sanders destroys the rim with a thunderous alley-oop slam, and then Jeff Green nearly makes a halfcourt jumper at the buzzer.
But overall, it's a snooze of a third quarter. The Celtics are still in the driver's seat, and they can ride from here to the finish line on cruise control.
Third quarter, 2:42, Celtics 56-34: Doc Rivers called a timeout two minutes ago; Ray Allen walked out of it and immediately rattled off five unanswered points. He's now got 17.
The Celtics are in total control at this point. They can rest their starters for the fourth quarter if they so choose.
Third quarter, 4:53, Celtics 51-34: The Celtics still have a big lead, but their play is starting to look a little iffy. First Nenad Krstic misses a layup, then Kevin Garnett drops an entry lob pass from Rajon Rondo. The C's have butterfingers. They need to execute better.
Doc Rivers calls a timeout, presumably to tell his players exactly that. Let's see if they get the message.
Third quarter, 7:26, Celtics 45-30: Brandon Jennings and Carlos Delfino are hitting their shots, starting to lead the Bucks back into this game. John Salmons is not.
Salmons is 0-for-5 from the field, including one missed 3. He has zero points.
There are still no Bucks in double figures.
Third quarter, 9:15, Celtics 43-27: In the entire first quarter, the Bucks had nine points. In the second, they had 11. In the opening minutes, they have seven points already.
What happened? Did Scott Skiles finally wake his guys up at halftime?
Halftime, Celtics 39-20: Are the Celtics winning this game, or are the Bucks losing it? Either way, the C's have a monstrosity of a lead at halftime. The Bucks manage only nine points in the first quarter and 11 in the second. That's ugly.
Nenad Krstic leads the Celtics with another monster first half — nine points and 11 rebounds. He had 14 and eight in the first half Friday. He's a machine.
Andrew Bogut leads the Bucks with six points and seven rebounds. He's Krstic Light.
The Celtics are outshooting the Bucks 45.7 percent to 22.9. Yowza.
Second quarter, 3:25, Celtics 37-18: Rajon Rondo misses a layup, but Kevin Garnett is there to tip it right back in. Even when these C's are terrible, they're great.
That makes it a 12-1 Boston run. The Bucks just look awful right now. They just played the previous night in Philadelphia, and the fatigue might be getting to them.
Second quarter, 5:29, Celtics 33-17: Ray Allen makes a running jumper in the lane off of a Rajon Rondo assist. Nine points now for Ray, two dimes for Rondo.
But the statistical star of the first half is clearly Nenad Krstic, who is dominating the Bucks to the tune of seven points and 10 rebounds. He just might get a double-double by halftime.
The C's are on an 8-0 run. They've got all the momentum and no sign of slowing.
Second quarter, 6:31, Celtics 29-17: Rajon Rondo gives, goes and scores on the fast break with Ray Allen. The Celtics are cruising.
The Bucks have been under 25 percent shooting for basically the entire game. At the moment they're 6-for-27, or 22.2 percent. That's ugly.
Second quarter, 9:08, Celtics 24-10: Doc Rivers lets his newfangled second unit get a nice extended run out there to start the second quarter, but now he's starting to ease the starters back in. Nenad Krstic and Ray Allen are back on the floor.
Still, though, we've seen some very nice glimpses of Sasha Pavlovic and Carlos Arroyo out there. The two newest Celtics have really started to mesh with their new teammates.
End of first quarter, Celtics 20-9: We've seen some dominant first-quarter defensive performances from the Celtics this season, but that one may just be the best yet.
The C's hold the Bucks to 4-of-17 shooting in the first quarter for nine total points. They're 0-of-4 from the 3-point line as well, and they've attempted just one free throw to the Celtics' eight.
Who will we see first — Avery Bradley, or Gino?
First quarter, 1:56, Celtics 18-6: The Celtics now have an 11-3 edge on the glass. Nenad Krstic has eight of those rebounds. The Bucks are getting destroyed out there.
Scott Skiles needs a timeout. His Bucks look dead tired out there. Or just plain dead.
First quarter, 3:01, Celtics 16-4: Kevin Garnett beats the buzzer of the shot clock with an off-balance long two. Swish.
The Celtics can do no wrong. They're 6-for-11 from the field; the Bucks are 2-for-11.
First quarter, 5:45, Celtics 10-4: The Bucks have made only two of their first eight shot attempts. That's not so good.
The Celtics are looking more alert defensively than they have in a while. They're talking, moving, helping each other out, and closing out possessions. Not taking a second off.
This is how you want them to play every night.
First quarter, 7:11, Celtics 10-2: The good news keeps coming for the C's. Andrew Bogut finds himself in early foul trouble with two quick ones, and Paul Pierce hits two shots to make it a 10-2 lead.
The Bucks have really weak frontcourt depth because of their injuries. Bogut getting in foul trouble is the worst thing that can possibly happen to them.
First quarter, 8:35, Celtics 8-2: A nice offensive rebound from Nenad Krstic leads to a nice second-chance bucket. The C's swing the ball around beautifully, hitting Ray Allen in the corner for a 3.
The Celtics take a solid early lead. Their ball movement has been great. This team is sharper on both ends than the one that lost Friday in Philadelphia.
First quarter, 11:43, Celtics 1-0: Nenad Krstic gets inside and draws a foul from Andrew Bogut on the opening possession. He gets two shots and makes one.
Good start for the C's, who have established an early advantage in the low post.
5:30 p.m.: Encouraging news out of the Celtics' locker room this evening. Not only is Glen Davis back now, but Delonte West is on the comeback trail as well. He's targeting Wednesday.
Things are starting to come together for the Celtics. We're about to find out what this club looks like with everyone back in the mix together.
Expect Big Baby to play a ton of minutes tonight in his first game back. He's the best big man on Doc Rivers' bench right now by far.
4 p.m.: Welcome to the TD Garden, where as usual, the new guys are on the floor early getting up shots. Two hours to game time, and Troy Murphy is getting his reps in.
Oh, and by the way: Glen Davis is playing this one. Big Baby has missed the last 10 days with a sore knee, but he's tired of sitting out. You can expect to see Big Baby get plenty of minutes Sunday night.
8 a.m.: Last time the Celtics took the court to play the Milwaukee Bucks, they were riding a four-game winning streak, and it didn't take them long to push it to five.
Sounds good, except for one problem: They haven't won since.
The C's followed up their five-game run with a two-game losing streak. After beating the Bucks last Sunday, 89-83 at the Bradley Center, they slipped and lost to the Clippers, 108-103, and the Sixers, 89-86. If they aren't careful, they might be slowly losing their grip on first place in the East.
The C's will look to get back on track against the Bucks, against whom they're already 2-0 this season. Sunday brings a chance for a season sweep.
Glen Davis is likely to return after missing 10 days with knee tendinitis; Shaquille O'Neal and Delonte West are on the way back as well, but not quite ready to go. Jermaine O'Neal and Von Wafer are still far from returning.
The C's won last Sunday with a late scoring burst in the fourth quarter, as Paul Pierce dropped 23 points and Kevin Garnett added a double-double, 14 points and 11 boards.
This Sunday, they'll be looking to dodge their first three-game losing streak of the season. Friday in Philadelphia was only their fifth time dropping back-to-back games.
It's a busy couple of days for the Celtics, who first take on Milwaukee and then hit the road right away, visiting the New Jersey Nets on Monday night. Tipoff with Brandon Jennings and the Bucks is slated for 6 p.m.
