Celtics go cold in Milwaukee as Bucks halt Boston's win streak

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Dec 11, 2025

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The Celtics’ five-game win streak stalled Thursday night in snowy Milwaukee.

Facing a scuffling Bucks team that was playing without two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, Boston went cold in the second half and lost, 116-101, at Fiserv Forum.

Antetokounmpo missed the game with a calf strain, but the Celtics could not corral the Bucks’ red-hot role players. Kyle Kuzma led all scorers with 31 points on 13-of-17 shooting, Bobby Portis scored 27 on 11-of-13 shooting, including a 5-for-6 showing from 3-point range, and Kevin Porter Jr. finished with an 18-point, 13-assist, 10-rebound triple-double.

Jaylen Brown (30 points on 10-of-17 shooting) and Jordan Walsh (20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, three steals) turned in strong offensive efforts for Boston, but the Celtics couldn’t overcome a series of 16 consecutive missed 3-pointers that stretched from halftime until midway through the fourth quarter.

It was an especially rough night for Wisconsin native Sam Hauser, who went 0 for 9 from deep off the bench. Guards Payton Pritchard (11 points), Derrick White (11 points) and Anfernee Simons (seven points) shot a combined 6 for 26 from beyond the arc, totaling 29 points.

The 15-10 Celtics had won 10 of their previous 12 games to move into third place in the Eastern Conference. The Bucks were trending in the opposite direction, going 2-10 in their previous 12.

Boston, which had three days off before Thursday’s game, won’t play again until next Monday, when it hosts the first-place Detroit Pistons at TD Garden.

Walsh got off to another disruptive start with steals on two of Milwaukee’s first three possessions, and head coach Joe Mazzulla made an early call to the bench, subbing in Josh Minott for center Neemias Queta just over two minutes in. Mazzulla alternated between standard lineups with Queta and smaller, Minott-centric groups throughout the night, as continuing a trend that began late last month.

Boston proceeded to score on five of its six trips down the floor, including 3-pointers by Minott, Pritchard, Walsh and Walsh again. Walsh’s second triple made it 21-8 midway through the first quarter.

The Celtics’ young wings don’t attempt a high volume of threes, but they’ve been highly efficient on those shots this season. Walsh, Minott, Hugo Gonzalez and Baylor Scheierman all entered Thursday shooting better than 44% from beyond the arc.

Brown, the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, played the entire opening quarter and didn’t miss, scoring 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting. He closed out the period with three consecutive makes, giving the Celtics some breathing room after Milwaukee trimmed their lead from 13 points to one.

Walsh hit his first seven shots to open the game, nailing a corner 3 in front of the Celtics bench to cap a career-best 18-point first half. Known more for his stingy defense, Walsh has been remarkably effective as a shooter of late. He’s gone 30 for 37 from the field (81.1%) and 9 for 12 from deep (75%) over his last five games, raising his career field-goal percentage by more than seven points in the process.

The only other player this season to score 18 points in a first half on 100% shooting: Nikola Jokic.

The Celtics converted just two field goals in the final five minutes of the half, however — a Walsh put-back and his 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds to play — and played the last 3:23 without Brown, who was called to the bench after picking up his third foul. Milwaukee pulled to within four immediately after Brown’s exit, but Ryan Rollins’ three-shot foul against White helped recenter the C’s. They took a 67-60 lead into halftime.

Boston’s team-wide shooting issues intensified in the third quarter, and the Bucks capitalized on that slump, staging an 11-0 run that tied the game at 71-71. Nine Portis points in 89 seconds put Milwaukee up 82-77 — the fiery veteran forward celebrated the last of those by jawing at Brown, which earned him a technical foul — and some tough makes from Cole Anthony made it 87-80 heading into the fourth.

The Celtics attempted 22 shots in the third and missed 18 of them, including all 12 of their 3-point attempts. Milwaukee outscored the 27-13 in the frame.

Brown ended Boston’s 3-point drought with 7:38 to play in regulation, pushing him over the 30-point plateau for the seventh time in his last eight games. But the rest of the Celtics’ roster remained frigid. Their 38% field-goal percentage in the loss was their worst of the season; their 28% success rate from 3-point range was their third-worst.

The Celtics are 4-10 this season when they shoot worse than 47% from the field and 4-10 when they make less than 36% of their 3s. They’re undefeated (11-0) when they hit either of those marks.