Antetokounmpo, Bucks hold off Celtics

Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer dug into his team after Thursday night’s win.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points and 17 rebounds, Khris Middleton scored 23 and the Bucks held off the Boston Celtics 128-123 despite blowing two separate 20point leads.

“We were up 20 twice and they came back,” Antetokounmpo said. “... We didn’t play the best basketball and how we usually play. I was kind of upset after the game. We talked in the locker room. We talked to one another. We were up 20 and we won but we’ve got to play for 48 minutes.

“Coach Bud came in here and he was steaming hot. He was angry and that’s good. He doesn’t really care about this game or the next game. He cares about how we can get better and how can we be good for 48 minutes. That’s what our goal is.”

Despite the lapses, the NBAleading Bucks (37-6) extended their winning streak to five games, while Boston lost its second game in as many nights.

“It’s a very long season, still,” Celtics guard Kemba Walker said. “We got so many games to play. When you have losses like this, you just have to learn from it, and I think we will.”

Walker scored a game-high 40 points to lead Boston, which took the floor without Jaylen Brown. The 6-foot-6 forward suffered a sprained right thumb in a 13-point loss to Detroit on Wednesday.

“We saw a play late in the first half and we think that might have been when it happened,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Maybe it got worse as the game went on. He didn’t say much about it at halftime. Certainly, after the game it was sore. Today, more sore.”

Stevens said the training staff will do more tests on Brown’s thumb on Friday.

Marcus Smart, who started in place of Brown, had 24 points.

“Coming off a back-to-back night, we knew that it was going to be tough,” Smart said. “But we didn’t want to let that be an excuse. We just continued to fight and fight until we got to where we wanted. We gave ourselves a chance at the end.”