Jaylen Brown returned after a one-game absence and had 30 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to a 107-79 triumph over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday.
Brown, who sat out Friday night’s 112-93 victory over Sacramento with a sore hamstring, made 12 of 20 field goal attempts, including 4 of 6 shots from beyond the 3-point arc. His rebound total matched a season high.
Boston’s Anfernee Simons came off the bench and scored 27 points. He made 6 of 10 3-point attempts. Derrick White added 17 points, seven rebounds and eight assists for the Celtics, who wrapped up a four-game homestand with a 3-1 record.
Center Neemias Queta also turned in another strong performance for Boston. He finished the game with 14 points and eight rebounds.
Ryan Rollins led Milwaukee with 25 points, six rebounds and seven assists. The Bucks received 16 points from Kyle Kuzma and eight points and 12 rebounds from Bobby Portis.
Milwaukee shot 29 of 82 from the field (35.4%) and was outrebounded 52-40.
The result extended Milwaukee’s losing streak to five games. The Bucks have lost eight of their last nine.
Milwaukee scored the game’s first 12 points, but it was 26-26 after Simons made a 3-pointer in the final second of the first quarter. The Celtics took their first lead on a Payton Pritchard 3-pointer with 11:36 left in the first half.
Brown converted a driving layup in the final second and Boston led 56-42 at halftime.
Boston extended its advantage to 68-47 on a Brown 3-pointer with 9:10 remaining in the third. Milwaukee got within 13 points with 1:13 left in the third, but Boston was up 78-61 entering the fourth.
The Celtics had their largest lead after Simons’ final 3-pointer made it 107-76 with 1:48 to play.
Boston made 15 of its 42 3-point attempts (35.7%) in the win, and had an 11-1 edge in fastbreak points.
