The Milwaukee Bucks scored nine points to start the game on Sunday afternoon. Then, Joe Mazzulla called a timeout, and Milwaukee scored three more.
It was a 12-0 start… followed by absolute dominance by the Boston Celtics.
Boston walked out of the arena on Sunday with a 107-79 victory. They held the Bucks to fewer than 20 points for three straight quarters after the first.
But how did it happen? And why was Sunday at TD Garden more important than the basketball played on the floor?
When I watch a game and decide what to ask post-game, my first thought is, ‘How can I better understand what happened?’ That’s how I come up with my questions for the night.
On Sunday, the biggest question that popped into my mind was, ‘Did anything actually change after the Bucks’ 12-0 run?’
The scoreboard tells one story, but watching the game tells another. Boston didn’t look like they made any adjustments. They played the same offense and defense, but the results were different.
So, what happened? That’s exactly what I asked Joe Mazzulla. So, let’s break down what he said.
“We were obviously a little bit more physical, but that team, they’re number two in three-point percentage,” said Mazzulla. “And so I thought in every quarter, you can go back and look at five shots that they missed that, if they make, this could be a different game. So, they just happened to [miss] those in there. And I thought, in the first quarter, we got good looks, and we missed them. And so, that’s just what you have to be able to do against a team like this.
“I thought we did a good job throughout the entire time of not giving up the pass-pass ones that they’re able to get, or the miscommunication on small-small pick-and-rolls, and then they get two-on-one reads. I thought most of their threes were ones that, because we had great individual defense, they kicked out there. So, I would imagine the numbers are a little bit higher tomorrow when we take a look at it, but I thought the physicality of how we played kind of affected that a little bit.”
Starting with the first tidbit Mazzulla offered up: The Bucks shot poorly on shots they usually make. Milwaukee holds the second-best three-point percentage (38.8%) in the league, as Mazzulla mentioned. They just didn’t convert on Sunday.
Mazzulla was happy with Boston’s one-on-one defense, as it made Milwaukee’s three-point opportunities more difficult to come by, but he also noted that the expected numbers (how well the Bucks should have shot) could look different than the end results.
On top of that, Mazzulla also stated that the Celtics missed shots they should have made in those first two minutes of the game. And that tracks.
Payton Pritchard stepped into two wide-open chances behind the arc, and he should have punished the Bucks’ drop defense. But the shots didn’t fall.
Boston’s defense also read the Bucks well. Mazzulla mentioned their small-small pick-and-rolls and how the Celtics guarded them.
Here, Gary Trent Jr. screens for Ryan Rollins, but the Celtics read it. They switch, prevent the drive, and Jaylen Brown gets a good contest on Trent’s three-point attempt.
The fast start for Milwaukee wasn’t a concern. Mazzulla just wanted to make sure the Celtics were honed in on the right tendencies. And they were.
2. What did Mazzulla say in the early timeout?
So, if the Celtics were playing the right way, why did Mazzulla call a timeout just over two minutes into the game? What was his message?
“Make a shot,” he said. “That would help. So you don’t have zero points. That always helps.”
But the real point of the timeout was to reinforce the Celtics’ game plan necessities. And in the first two minutes, the only problem Mazzulla noted was a Bobby Portis possession.
“Then really, the only play was [when] Portis got to his left shoulder and tried a right-hand hook,” Mazzulla said. “Other than that, it was kind of just a couple shots there. So just reinforcing there, just setting there. Wanted to come out, get a good shot. I don’t know if we scored on the next play or not, but just kind of reinforcing that.”
This was right before Mazzulla’s timeout, too. It looks like Neemias Queta is about to help over to take the shot away, but he’s just barely too late.
The Celtics are all about tendencies this season. It’s what Mazzulla has always emphasized. Even a small play like that, Portis getting to his left shoulder for a right-hand hook, was enough to put Mazzulla on alert.
Sunday was the NBA’s inaugural Pioneers Day, and the game was dedicated to honoring the 75th anniversary of the NBA Pioneers—Chuck Cooper, Earl Lloyd, and Nathaniel “Sweetwater” Clifton—the league’s first Black players.
☘️ Chuck Cooper: First Black player selected in the NBA draft
☝️ Earl Lloyd: First Black player to play in an NBA game
📝 Nat “Sweetwater” Clifton: First Black player to sign an NBA contract
The NBA Pioneers Classic honors their legacy and lasting impact. pic.twitter.com/sdT5ZdkMHX
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 1, 2026
It was a perfectly run evening, and the NBA brought out some true game-changers. Celtics legend Tom “Satch” Sanders was on the house. Bill Russell’s daughter, Karen, and Red Auerbach’s daughter, Julie, were as well.
Beautiful moment here at TD Garden as the Celtics take a moment to honor Bill Russell and Red Auerbach on Pioneers Day
Bill Russell’s daughter, Karen, and Red Auerbach’s granddaughter, Julie, were both recognized on the court pic.twitter.com/sZHYl3Xr2D
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) February 1, 2026
The jumbotron also panned to KC Jones’ three daughters in the crowd, who were sitting alongside Sam Jones’ son.
“We have history. We’re fortunate working for the Celtics,” Mazzulla said post-game. “We just have history around us all the time. Just in so many different ways. And it’s always cool to have moments like that, because it shows, and we talked about this, this job wouldn’t be what it was, and this team wouldn’t be what it was, if the people before you didn’t leave it better than they found it, and so you have a responsibility to do the same.
“So, it’s a special day for a lot of reasons, and I think it just put things in perspective about what it means to be a Celtic and what it means to, when you have a platform, taking advantage of that.”
“I think it’s cool,” Brown said of the event. “I don’t know what the process was behind it and why it came about, but I think it’s cool, being able to pay honors to the pioneers of the past. I also think there are pioneers of this generation that we probably should put more of an emphasis on, but it’s pretty cool to see people that may have gotten lost in time, that have had major contributions, be able to have their moment.
“So, I think that’s pretty cool, but we also got up-and-coming pioneers, so I would love to see the NBA celebrate those as well. We don’t have to wait 15 years to be able to honor our pioneers. There are pioneers that are happening right now.”
4. The Anfernee Simons rule
If Anfernee Simons catches the ball, he should shoot the ball. At least, that’s the takeaway based on observing Mazzulla and the coaching staff on the sideline.
“Yeah, they get pissed off if I don’t shoot the ball sometimes,” Simons said with a smile. “But I guess I like to feel the game out sometimes. Feel like it’s the right shot, might not be the right shot at the time. And so, they’re just trying to give me the ultimate confidence to go out there and play. Be myself and go out there and play.”
Simons’ release is lightning quick. He doesn’t need much space to get up a three, and when Boston finds him behind the arc, he can almost always get up a good shot.
So, Mazzulla and the coaching staff screaming at him to shoot the ball isn’t a bad thing. It’s the ultimate vote of confidence.
“Obviously, when the whole group just wants you to be yourself and go out there and play your game, and you see success in that, obviously, it builds your confidence, and it builds the confidence in everybody else as well,” Simons said.
The Boston guard finished the night with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the floor and 6-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
5. Neemias Queta’s reads
Boston’s pick-and-roll with Queta as the screener has become absolutely dominant. And not just because of how well he sets screens.
He’s become great at reading what the situation needs.
Midway through the first quarter, as the Celtics were still stuck in an offensive slog, he did just that. Queta went to run a hand-off with Brown, but when he saw Myles Turner step up out of his drop coverage, he took the ball and drove.
Queta got himself a wide-open dunk purely thanks to his ability to read the game.
6. Derrick White is insane
There isn’t much else to say about this. This defensive play is wild to watch.
These are NBA players. The best league in the world. And Derrick White got a steal that would make sense at the JV basketball level.
Then, Simons drained a three in transition as the cherry on top.
Bonus: It felt wrong not to write about Brown after this game. There were just so many fun little moments I wanted to note down post-game.
Brown did a phenomenal job picking on mismatches and finding his spots throughout this game. Whenever he saw a matchup he liked, he went to work, and the result was an extremely efficient double-double.
(His work on the glass was also very impressive.)
If anything, the fact that his impressive night wasn’t atop the list of incredible occurrences on Sunday is a testament to how normalized his greatness has become. It’s no longer a story; it’s the expectation.
Double bonus: Jordan Walsh’s work on the offensive glass was awesome to watch.
