For the second straight game, the Boston Celtics found themselves in an early hole.
And for the second straight game, that deficit didn’t last long as the Celtics regrouped from an early slump to surge ahead to a 99-83 win over Milwaukee.
Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 20 points while Jared Sullinger had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 20 minutes of action.
The game began with an 8-0 Bucks run before Brad Stevens had seen enough and called a time-out with 9:07 to play in the first.
Boston’s early deficit was fueled by a slew of turnovers.
Once the Celtics stopped turning the ball over, the deficit began to decrease.
And by the end of the quarter, the Celtics were all tied at 24.
Their control of the game only grew from there, courtesy of yet another strong performance by the Celtics bench.
Even with Isaiah Thomas in the starting lineup, Boston’s second unit continues to deliver strong, dominant performances as they scored 48 points compared to 25 for Milwaukee.
Kelly Olynyk has picked up some of the scoring load off the bench and finished with 11 points.
Boston also got a strong game from rookie R.J. Hunter, whose length made him a logical choice for Stevens to turn to at times against the Bucks whose strength this season is immense length at most positions.
Hunter had a career-high seven points in addition to seven rebounds which is also a career-high.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee (4-4) was led by Greg Monroe’s double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds and Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 16 points.