Boston @ Milwaukee preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 30, 2019 ) Milwaukee 105, Boston 116

The Milwaukee Bucks look to avenge one of their six losses when they host the Boston Celtics on Thursday. Milwaukee is off to the best 42-game start in franchise history but one of the setbacks occurred in the fourth contest of the season when the host Celtics produced a 116-105 victory.

The Bucks have won four straight games - the last three by an average of 22.7 points - and nine of their past 10, but coach Mike Budenholzer isn't interested in discussing whether his club can become the third NBA team to win 70 games in a season. "We appreciate we've had a great start, but there's still a lot of work to do," Budenholzer told reporters after Tuesday's 128-102 rout of the visiting New York Knicks. "Defensively, individual pride, it feels like there are nights where we can't keep the ball in front of us. Offensively, our execution, both when we're playing motion and in the half-court stuff, we need to be better. That becomes more important in close games, in the playoffs." Boston has dropped four of its last six games, including a stunning 116-103 setback against the visiting Detroit Pistons on Wednesday. Standout power forward Jayson Tatum sat out because of knee soreness but coach Brad Stevens said he feels he will be able to play against the Bucks.

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: TNT, TSN1, TSN3

ABOUT THE CELTICS (27-12): Shooting guard Jaylen Brown scored 24 points and matched his season best of 12 rebounds against Detroit but sprained his right thumb at some point during the contest. "I don't think it's too bad," Brown told reporters. "I told (the training staff), just see how it feels in the morning and we'll go from there." Small forward Gordon Hayward excelled against Detroit with 25 points on 11-of-15 shooting after scoring in single digits in two of the three previous games.

ABOUT THE BUCKS (36-6): Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo played only 21 minutes in the rout of the Knicks and recorded 37 points and nine rebounds while doing his best not to pay attention to the score. "I'm just trying to be aggressive and trying to make plays," Antetokounmpo said afterward. "When you come out with the mindset to make the lead go 20 or 30 or 40, that's when you mess up the lead. You've just got to keep doing your job, and then you look up and see you lead by 30. Then you're like, 'OK, we did our job so now we can sit'." The reigning league MVP is averaging 34.5 points over the past two games since scoring a season-low 13 against the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Celtics PG Kemba Walker scored 32 points in the October win, while the Bucks received 26 points from SF Khris Middleton.

2. Bucks SG Wesley Matthews is 10-of-41 shooting and averaging 4.7 points in six January outings.

3. Milwaukee has reached the 100-point mark in 66 straight games, the longest streak since the Dallas Mavericks had a 67-game run from Jan. 15 to Dec. 10, 1986.

PREDICTION: Bucks 111, Celtics 103