The Milwaukee Bucks wanted to make a statement on Thursday night as they hosted the Boston Celtics in the Fiserv Forum. The Bucks have won just one game in 2024, and there’s no better way to bounce back than by defeating the best team in the NBA right now.
Well, the game might not be over just yet, but there’s no denying that the Bucks have come out with quite a statement in the first half.
Milwaukee Bucks Blow Out Celtics in Opening Half
37 points. That’s how big Milwaukee’s lead was by the time the buzzer sounded for the halftime break. This is after the Bucks dropped a whopping 75 points all over a struggling Boston side in the first half alone, nearly doubling Boston’s 37-point tally after two quarters.
As so proudly pointed out by the Bucks’ official Twitter account, this first-half demolition job represents the fourth-biggest halftime lead in franchise history:
Our 37-point lead at halftime is the fourth-largest in franchise history.
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) January 12, 2024
Per Bucks PR:
Largest halftime leads in franchise history:
41 (77-36) – Nov. 22, 2021 vs ORL
39 (77-38) – Jan. 13, 2022 vs GSW
38 (78-40) – Dec. 26, 1978 vs DET
37 (75-38) – Tonight vs BOS— Gabe Stoltz (@Stoltzy3) January 12, 2024
Things were so bad for the Celtics that they too made history with their atrocious first-half performance. Unfortunately, it was the wrong kind of history for Jayson Tatum and Co.:
THE CELTICS FACE THEIR LARGEST HALFTIME DEFICIT SINCE 1967 😳 pic.twitter.com/Mv2Zd8rsJ3
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 12, 2024
The Celtics just broke a record that has been standing for nearly six decades. This speaks volumes of how poorly they played in the first half.
It also seems like they’ve decided to wave the white flag already. Coach Joe Mazzulla opted to pull his starters from the game entering the third quarter:
And the Celtics have pulled their starters for the night.
Pritchard, Mykhailuk, Stevens, Hauser and Kornet on the floor for the Celtics to start the third quarter.
— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) January 12, 2024
I know they always say that it’s not over until the fat lady sings, but I guess this is as close as we get to a game being over at halftime.
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