Jayson Tatum scores 23 points in the second half to give the Celtics a 113-107 victory over the struggling Bucks

MILWAUKEE – Jayson Tatum had 31 points, 12 rebounds and six assists and the Boston Celtics rallied in the second half to beat the struggling Milwaukee Bucks 113-107 on Sunday afternoon.

Tatum gave the Celtics the lead for good by hitting two free throws with 5:51 left as Boston erased a nine-point halftime deficit.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a season-high 43 points for the Bucks, who have lost eight of nine. Antetokounmpo also had 13 rebounds and five assists.

Payton Pritchard added 18, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White each had 15 and Jaylen Brown scored 14 for the Celtics. Brown returned after missing four games with a hip injury.

Bobby Portis scored 15 points for Milwaukee.

Takeaways
Celtics: Pritchard, who scored 28 points in a 119-108 win over the Bucks on Oct. 28, kept Boston in the game by scoring 17 points in the first half. From there, Tatum took the lead with 23 points in the second half.
Bucks: Milwaukee jumped out to a 16-2 lead in the first 2 1/2 minutes of the game, led by at least eight points the entire first half and went into halftime leading 69-58 after its highest-scoring half of the season . But the Bucks scored just 15 points in the third quarter, their lowest total in a quarter this season, and were unable to recover.

Key moment
The Celtics opened the third quarter with a 12-0 run that culminated with a 3-pointer from Al Horford. The Bucks responded – there were eight ties and seven lead changes in the second half – but Boston responded to every Milwaukee turnover until the end.

Key statistics
Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard scored 14 points but shot 1 of 8 from 3-point range. He was one of 12 from distance in his last two games.

Next
The Celtics host the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, the same day the Bucks host the Toronto Raptors.