Celtics (51-25) at Bucks (30-46) Game #77 4/3/26

[FLCeltsFan]

  at 
Boston Celtics (51-25) at Milwaukee Bucks (30-46)
Friday, April 3, 2026
8:00 PM ET
TV: NBCSB, FDSWI, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, WTMJ (103.3),  Sirius XM
Regular Season Game #77,  Road Game #40
Fiserv Forum


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs Ryan Rollins

Shooting Guard
vs 
Jaylen Brown vs Gary Trent, Jr

Small Forward
  vs 
Sam Hauser vs Kyle Kuzma

Power Forward
  vs 
Jayson Tatum vs Jericho Sims

Center
  vs 
Neemias Queta vs Miles Turner

Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Jordan Walsh
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
John Tonje
Charles Bassey (10-Day)

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr

Injuries/Out
Nikola Vucevic (finger) out

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Bucks Reserves
Thanasis Antetokounmpo
Ousmane Dieng
AJ Green
Gary Harris
Andre Jackson, Jr
Pete Nance
Taurean Prince

Two-Way Players
Alex Antetokounmpo
Cormac Ryan

Injuries/Out
Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee) out
Thanasis Antetokounmpo (calf) questionable
Bobby Portis, Jr  (wrist)  out
Kevin Porter, Jr  (knee)  out
Gary Trent, Jr (hip) questionable
Ryan Rollins (hip) probable
Jericho Sims (patella) probable

Head Coach
Doc Rivers

Game Notes
The Celtics visit the Milwaukee Bucks for the 4th, and final, game between these two teams this season.  The Bucks won 116-101 in Milwaukee on December11.  The Celtics won 107-79 in Boston on February 1.  The Celtics won 108-81 in Milwaukee on March 2.  Due to the in-season tournament,  they face the anomaly of playing 3 times in Milwaukee and just once in Boston.  The Celtics won the series 3-0 last season.  They are 123-113 overall all time against the Bucks and they are 45-73 in games played in Milwaukee.

The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 4 games behind 1st place Detroit. They are 2.5 games ahead of 3rd place New York, 4 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 7.5 games ahead of 5th place Atlanta, and 9 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 7th place Toronto.. The Celtics are 32-15 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 25-14 on the road and 8-2 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a win in their last game. (The Pistons, Hornets, and Cavaliers are still playing as I post this).

The Bucks are 11th in the East, 25 games behind 1st place Detroit, 12 games behind 7th place Toronto, 10 games behind 8th place Charlotte and 9th place Orlando, and 9.5 games behind 10th place Miami.  They are 1 game ahead of 12th place Chicago and 12 games ahead of 13th place Indiana.  The Bucks are 20-27 against Eastern Conference opponents.  They are 17-21 at home and 3-7 in their last 10 games.  They are coming off a loss in their last game. 

After this game at Milwaukee, the Celtics will then play two games at home against Toronto and Charlotte before one game on the road at New York. They will finish the season with 2 games at home against New Orleans and Orlando. The Bucks are playing in the first of 2 home games.  They will host Memphis before playing at Brooklyn and at Detroit before hosting Brooklyn.  They will finish the season at Philadelphia. 

The Celtics have just Nikola Vucevic (finger) on their injury report.  The Bucks have 3 players out, 2 players questionable and 2 probable. Giannis Antetokounmpo (knee), Kevin Porter, Jr (knee), and Bobby Portis, Jr (wrist) are all out.  Thanasis Antetokounmpo (calf) and Gary Trent, Jr (hip) are both questionable.  Ryan Rollins (hip) and Jericho Sims (patella) are both probable.

Key Matchups
vs
Derrick White vs Ryan Rollins
Rollins is averaging 17.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 5.6 assists per game.  He is shooting 47% from the field and 40.7% from beyond the arc.   In 3 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 13.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 43.2% from the field and 46.2% from beyond the arc. 

  vs 
Sam Hauser vs Kyle Kuzma
Kuzma is averaging 13.2 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game.  He is shooting 49.1% from the field and 34.2% from beyond the arc.  In 2 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 23.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1 assist  while shooting 60% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics have to do a better job of defending him in this one. 

Honorable Mention
Neemias Queta vs Myles Turner
Turner is averaging 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game.  He is shooting 43.9% from the field and 38.7% from beyond the arc.  In 3 games against the Celtics this season, he averaged 5.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1 block per game while shooting 20% from the field and 14.3% from beyond the arc.  Hopefully he will struggle in this game once again but the Celtics can't depend on it and need to defend him both in the paint and on the perimeter.

Keys to the Game
Defense -  Defense is always the biggest key to winning.  Defense really does win championships.  The Celtics are 4th with a defensive rating of 111.8  The Bucks are 26th with a defensive rating of 117.9.    The Celtics must work harder on defense in this one and keep their focus on the defensive end so as not to allow any easy baskets for the Bucks. They especially need to defend the perimeter as the Bucks are 2nd in the league shooting 38.6% from beyond the arc as a team and they are 4th, making 14.9 threes a game right behind the Celtics, who make 15.3 threes per game.

Rebound - Next to defense, rebounding is always a big key to winning.  As Pat Riley once said, "No rebounds, no rings." The key to rebounding is effort and focus.  When the Celtics have more rebounds then their opponents, they are 39-11 when they have fewer rebounds, they are just 9-13. They are just 9-12 in games tin which they are out-rebounded.  The Bucks are 28th with 40.8 rebounds per game while the Celtics are 4th with 46.5 rebounds per game.   The Celtics have to fight to beat the Bucks to every rebound.

Don't Underestimate the Bucks - The Bucks do not have their best player and often the Celtics relax and underestimate short handed teams.  However,  the Bucks are still a rival in the Eastern Conference that can play hard.   The Celtics have to give max effort on the boards and on defense and they have to give that effort for the entire game and not just 1 or 2 quarters.  They also have to focus on taking and making the best shots and taking care of the ball.  They can't relax and expect an easy game.

3 Point Shooting - The Celtics are 3rd in the league, taking 42.1 three pointers per game.  They are shooting 36.3% as a team from beyond the arc.  The Bucks are 11th, averaging 38.6 threes a game and they are 2nd in the league shooting 38.6% on threes as a team. The Celtics make 15.3 threes a game while the Bucks make 14.9 thees a game.  The Celtics need to work to get open and move the ball to find the best shots.  If the 3's aren't falling,  they need to take the ball inside.  And they need to defend the perimeter or the Bucks will bury them in 3s as they did in the first game when they shot 44.8% from beyond the arc. 

X-Factors
On the Road - The Celtics are on the road and so will have the distractions of travel, staying in hotels, and playing in front of a hostile crowd.  They need to stay focused and not allow any of those distractions to take away from playing their game.  Historically, the Celtics are just 45-73 in Milwaukee.  They need to stay focused and play hard and not let up. 

Coaching - Doc Rivers coached the Celtics from 2004 until 2013 and quit when the Celtics traded Pierce and Garnett to start a rebuild.  The Celtics had a relatively short rebuild and have been largely successful since he left.  Doc has struggled in each of his stops with the Clippers, 76ers and now the Bucks.  Doc would love nothing more than to beat his former team while Joe just wants to beat everybody, no matter who they are. 

Officiating - The officiating can always be an x-factor.  Some referees call the game tight and others let them play.  Some favor the home team and others call it evenly.  Some refs just seem to have an agenda that doesn't fit the play on the court.  And sometimes the refs are simply bad.  The Celtics have to play through however the refs call the game, whether it is tight or they let them play or they make terrible calls.  The Celtics can't allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus on the game. 

[Silas]

Let's go Cs and keep on winning....

[FLCeltsFan]

TP to Silas  for being the first to post in the game thread!!!!!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Celtics!!!!

Beat the Bucks!!!!!

[Silas]

Thanks FLCeltsFan for another game thread and the TP, and a TP back at you...go Celtics!

[slamtheking]

TP for another great game thread FL.  time to make Giannis wish he played for the Cs

[SHAQATTACK]

Here we go again .

[celts55]

How long is Vucevic supposed to be out?

[Jiri Welsch]

How long is Vucevic supposed to be out?

The original diagnosis was that he'd be reevaluated 3-4 weeks after the surgery. I don't think it was a guarantee that he would return 3-4 weeks after the surgery.

Anyway, the surgery happened on March 7th (will be exactly 4 weeks tomorrow). He was participating lightly during pre-game warmups in Miami.

My guess is he plays the final 4 games of the season. This would have him returning on April 7th. And then give him a handful of rest days while all of the play-in games sort themselves out.

[A Future of Stevens]

Lets go Celtics! I can't believe they have won 51+ games this year. What a fun, unexpected ride

[Amonkey]

Lets go Celtics! I can't believe they have won 51+ games this year. What a fun, unexpected ride

To be very honest, looking at both teams' preseason expectations, you could say that their records would have been reversed. It is great that the Celtics have far exceeded their expectations while Bucks have been an underwhelming disappointment.