Celtics ‘Didn’t Panic’ When Closing Out Close Game Against Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks outscored the Celtics 36-21 in the fourth quarter, but Boston held on for the 122-119 win, its seventh straight victory.

Jaylen Brown was tasked with guarding Bucks star Damian Lillard. Despite the guard’s 32-point outing, Brown took his assignment seriously and made Lillard earn each point.

“I was just trying to chase him around all game. He’s tough,” Brown told Abby Chin on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “I gave a lot of respect to Dame, and I was in his jersey all game long, and he still made some tough shots. So, shoutout to him, but that was my assignment, and I took on the challenge and helped us win, but we gotta be better in the fourth.”

In the past, the Celtics may not have been able to close out games that saw large leads evaporate late, but Brown said things are just “different” this season.

“I just think we got a different team, different lineups. We got (Kristaps) Porzingis, Jrue (Holiday), who wasn’t out there today, but we got guys that can make a difference,” Brown explained. “We just play with poise, take our time and get some good shots.

“I thought tonight we got some good looks in the fourth; we just couldn’t get a stop. We didn’t panic, we didn’t rush, we had some good offense. Credit to Milwaukee, though, they played good tonight.”

With a 32-3 home record at TD Garden this season, all three Celtics losses have come at the hands of Western Conference opponents.

“It means a lot,” Brown said of the undefeated record against Eastern Conference teams. “We got to keep that up going into the playoffs. Obviously, this is a new team, new year, but it’s been a blessing to be on this squad. We got to keep it up on defense and continuing on offense and try to find a way to win.”

Boston has won 18 of its last 20 games.