Celtics vs Bucks

The Boston Celtics battle the Milwaukee Bucks for the second straight year on Christmas day, this year at the T.D. Garden.

Hardwood Houdini has your odds and a prediction for the Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves on ABC (all odds provided by WynnBET): That momentum will be essential against a Milwaukee Bucks squad that will be motivated to avoid a three-game losing streak against the other top four teams in the east. First place in the Eastern Conference and the NBA at large is on the line here on Christmas Day as the Cs take on the Milwaukee Bucks at the T.D.

The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates from Celtics vs. Bucks on Christmas Day. Follow along right here for the best highlights from this ...

— The game will be played at TD Garden in Boston. Bucks will tip off around 5 p.m. Boston's got 19 points in the first four minutes of game time thanks to 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. — At the end of one, the Celtics hold an eight-point lead courtesy of a last-second heave from Sam Hauser. — Giannis Antetokounmpo has got the jumper going this evening. For the Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo has four points, two rebounds and two assists. For Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo has 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting but it's been the play of Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez that's stood out. He's now 5 of 15 from the field for 12 points to go along with eight rebounds. He's got 16 points in the frame and is up to 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. — This is Jayson Tatum's quarter. The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates from the Celtics vs.

In a rematch of an Eastern Conference semifinals series that went seven games, the Bucks and Celtics are meeting Sunday at 5 p.m. ET as part of the NBA's ...

Without Khris Middleton, the Bucks aimlessly tried to find new ways to attack the Celtics’ switch-heavy defense last postseason. For the Celtics, it'll be Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum while start Surprised to watch Al Horford jump at a pump fake for Giannis Antetokounmpo early in the game. That, and they make a lot of shots. The Celtics have made eight of their 13 3-point attempts and they've hit some tough ones. The two big men had played together just once all season for a total of five minutes, but defending Giannis and the Bucks demands size. These final six minutes of the first half has been where they have lost connection with opponents in the last week or so. The Celtics started out hot from the 3-point line, but cooled off in the second quarter. As this third quarter begins, I'm watching to see if the Bucks can get Giannis Antetokounmpo in his bread-and-butter zone. In the first three games of this road trip, the Bucks have made 35 of their 107 3-point attempts, or 32.7 percent. That tells you how locked in Tatum is right now. But 39 points through three quarters against your team’s top rival – and arguably your top rival for MVP in Giannis Antetokounmpo?

Austin Wang breaks down how to bet Sunday's Christmas Day matchup between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics.

The [chalk](https://www.actionnetwork.com/education/chalk) has been prevailing on Christmas. They are 29th in Offensive Rating in their previous five games and desperately needed that win against the [Timberwolves](https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/odds/minnesota-timberwolves). [spread](https://www.actionnetwork.com/education/point-spread), so I think the line is about right you are not getting much value in that number. They are 29th in [points](https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/props/points) scored per game at 106.0 and dead last in Offensive Rating (104.7). [Eastern Conference](https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/futures/nba-eastern-conference-champion-odds) Semifinals. The content on this page is for informational purposes only. Their team total on the road has gone 12-3 to the under and 9-1 to the under in their last 10 games, per [EV Analytics](https://evanalytics.com/nba/stats/team-total). [total](https://www.actionnetwork.com/education/over-under-total) is sitting at 225. The concept of revenge for a postseason loss hasn’t really applied in this situation. The Celts have bodies to build a wall against Antetokounmpo and I’m not sure they have enough firepower on offense to compete. They have been banking on their stifling defense, which ranks third in the league (108.5) and first in opponent’s Effective Field Goal Percentage (51.5%). One glaring weakness to point out is their splits on the road.

The Sporting News is tracking live scoring updates from Celtics vs. Bucks on Christmas Day. Follow along right here for the best highlights from this ...

Bucks will tip off around 5 p.m. Bucks will air on ABC and ESPN. Boston's got 19 points in the first four minutes of game time thanks to 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. — At the end of one, the Celtics hold an eight-point lead courtesy of a last-second heave from Sam Hauser. — Giannis Antetokounmpo has got the jumper going this evening. For Milwaukee, Giannis Antetokounmpo has 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting but it's been the play of Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez that's stood out. He's now 5 of 15 from the field for 12 points to go along with eight rebounds. He's got 16 points in the frame and is up to 35 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field. He's also a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line. The Celtics' lead is up to 16 points with just over four minutes remaining and Jayson Tatum has a game-high 41 points on 14-of-22 shooting. The Sporting News tracked live scoring updates from the Celtics vs. Jrue Holiday added 23 points and Brook Lopez scored 16 points, but overall, the Celtics had their way offensively.