Bucks vs. Celtics score, takeaways: Giannis Antetokounmpo and Co. sink Boston with Christmas Day comeback

Milwaukee pulls off a magical comeback on Christmas Day

After being down by 19 points in the first half, the Milwaukee Bucks managed to fight back and overtake the Boston Celtics for an impressive 117-113 win on Christmas Day. The Celtics looked like they were in control of this game, even up until the final five minutes, but reigning Finals MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and the rest of the Bucks played gritty defense and started knocking down big shots on the other end to eke out a tight win. 

Giannis had 36 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the win, while Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday added 17 points apiece for the Bucks. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics with 25 points each, while Marcus Smart added 19 points of his own. The win improves the Bucks to 22-13, while the Celtics drop to 16-17 on the season. 

Here are three main takeaways from Milwaukee's comeback win over the Celtics on Christmas Day.

1. Giannis dominates in return

The Bucks have been without their leading man for the past five games due to being in the league's COVID-19 protocols, but after being cleared on Christmas Eve, Giannis made a splash in his return to the lineup. Not only did he lead all scorers with 36 points, but he absolutely dominated the second half and helped lead the Bucks to a comeback win over the Celtics. It wasn't easy, especially as Boston's defense tried to do everything in its power to try and contain Antetokounmpo. It worked in the first half, as the Greek Freak had just seven points through two quarters while going just 3 of 8 from the field. 

The Celtics did a great job of sending two defenders at him as he came downhill toward the basket, and making it difficult for him to get shots up as they tried to swat the ball from his hands before he had enough time to go into a euro step. But then the second half happened, and Antetokounmpo settled into the game and began to take over. 

In the third quarter alone he had a whopping 17 points, which helped close a 19-point gap created by the Celtics to just a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. The final bucket of that quarter was perhaps the most impressive, in which Giannis got a switch on Juancho Hernangomez and put him in a spin cycle for an easy dunk on the Celtics forward. It went a little something like this:

Antetokounmpo continued that dominance in the fourth quarter, where he racked up 12 points. He was getting downhill with ease in the second half compared to the first two quarters, and was getting far more foul calls in the process. He finished going 10 of 15 from the free-throw line, which isn't great by any means, but it was enough to help chip away at Boston's lead over the course of the game. If there was any concern that he would be a little rusty entering this game after missing five-straight, those fears were dashed in the second half of this game.

2. Donte's return, Portis' production and other Bucks highlights

Aside from Giannis' insane stat line, the Bucks had quite a few exciting Christmas gifts from this game. The first of which was the return of Donte DiVincenzo, who has been sidelined since the first round of the playoffs last year due to a foot injury. Though he only put up three points on 1 of 4 from the field, DiVincenzo still finished the night a plus-13 in 15 minutes of action. He was doing all the little things, like being in the right spot on defense to deflect passes which led to turnovers, making the right passes and grabbing two rebounds as well. It was just one game, and he'll surely have to find his footing after being away from the game for so long, but having him in the rotation will do wonders for a Milwaukee team that ranks 28th in the league in bench points. 

Speaking of bench production, let's give a round of applause for Bobby Portis, who finished the night with a double-double off the bench (16 points, 10 rebounds). It's on par for what Portis has been doing all season for the Bucks, as the big man is averaging a career-high 15.6 points and nine rebounds (also a career-high) after re-signing with Milwaukee over the summer. He's been the anchor in the second unit on both ends of the floor, and that was highlighted yet again vs. the Celtics. 

Other tidbits from this win for Milwaukee: the starting lineup featuring Giannis, Khris Middleton, DeMarcus Cousins, Grayson Allen and Jrue Holiday had played together for just five minutes prior to this game. With this win over the Celtics, the Bucks improve to 14-2 when the trio of Antetokounmpo, Middleton and Holiday play together.

3. Shorthanded Celtics put up a good fight

From the opening tip it appeared like Boston had a successful game plan on both ends of the floor. The team was crowding the paint any time Giannis loaded up to get in the post, holding him to just seven points in the first half. On offense, the ball wasn't sticking to the hands of Brown and Tatum, as guys like Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford and Smart were all putting points on the board. That game plan worked to the tune of a 19-point lead in the first half of the game, and an 11-point lead with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. 

But then Giannis adjusted his play, the Bucks started to knock down shots and Boston reverted to some of its old ways of not making the extra pass and settling for good not great looks, and it came back to bite the Celtics in the closing seconds of the game. It also doesn't help that the Celtics have nine players in protocols, including Dennis Schroder, Grant Williams and Josh Richardson. On top of Al Horford being sidelined despite recently exiting health and safety protocols. 

In those guys' absence, Pritchard provided great production off the bench (16 points, five rebounds, five assists, 4 of 8 from deep), but it wasn't enough to help the starting lineup overcomes a Bucks team that recently had every player exit COVID-19 protocols. Boston only went eight players deep in the matchup, and you could tell by the end of the game some guys were a little gassed because of the lack of depth. In the grand scheme of things, it was impressive that the Celtics managed to control the game for as long as they did with so many key reserves out, but in the end the defending champions took over and stole the win on Christmas.  

[Dec 25, 2021 at 5:10 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

3-pointer from Jaylen Brown rattles out, and the Bucks win the game 117-113 after being down by 19 points in the first half. 

[Dec 25, 2021 at 5:09 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

Khris Middleton goes 1-2 at the free throw line, and Bucks are up 4 points with five seconds left. 

[Dec 25, 2021 at 5:06 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

The call has been overturned, it'll be Bucks ball with eight seconds left and a 3-point lead. 

[Dec 25, 2021 at 5:04 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

It looked like the Celtics would've had an easy dunk, but Giannis blocks Robert Williams' attempt. It was ruled Boston ball, but Mike Budenholzer is challenging it because it may be Bucks ball. This is going to be a huge decision. 

[Dec 25, 2021 at 5:01 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

Wesley Matthews gives the Bucks their first lead of the game with a 3-pointer after a crazy sequence of events. It's 114-113 Bucks with 30 seconds left in the game. 

[Dec 25, 2021 at 5:00 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

Jaylen Brown gives Boston a two-point lead with those free throws.

[Dec 25, 2021 at 4:59 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

And Giannis doesn't convert on the free-throw, game still tied with just a minute left. 

[Dec 25, 2021 at 4:58 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

And-1 for Giannis and the Bucks tie it up. The Greek Freak has the opportunity to give Milwaukee their first lead of the game and it couldn't come at a better time.

[Dec 25, 2021 at 4:57 pm ET · Jasmyn Wimbish]

It's a two-point game after the second-chance opportunity for the Bucks with that Giannis dunk.