The second half momentum propelled the Celtics to victory over the Bucks 119-108

After a decisive away win in Detroit at the weekend, the Celtics (4-0) were back at TD Garden on Monday night for a game against the Milwaukee Bucks (1-3). With a perfect 3-0 record to start the season, the Celtics had five double-digit scorers and overcame a slow start with an avalanche of goals in the second half to win 119-108.

The Celtics were without Sam Hauser for the third straight game, while the Bucks, playing at the end of a back-to-back, were without starting forward Khris Middleton for the fourth straight game. In Middleton's absence, Milwaukee turned to Gary Trent Jr. and Taurean Prince on the wings to complement Damian Lillard in the backcourt and Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez in the frontcourt.

Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard led the Celtics, with Brown scoring 30 points on 10 of 19 shooting and Pritchard adding 28 points on 8 of 12 shooting from distance. Jrue Holiday (21 points on 7/12 shooting) and Derrick White (13 points, 8 assists) also showed solid performances. For the Bucks, their star duo Dame and Giannis led the way, scoring a combined 66 points. Pritchard had a record-breaking three-game performance, tying Eddie House as the most 3-point field goals made off the bench since 2009.

Averaging 39 points in the first quarter entering their fourth game of the season, the Celtics started slowly, missing their first seven shots before a Derrick White layup ended the drought. White then hit Boston's first three-pointer, scoring the team's first seven points of the game.

More successful offense followed from there, with Jayson Tatum aggressively going to the rim and scoring eight points, while Payton Pritchard came off the bench and quickly added another eight points.

Still, it was the Celtics' lowest-scoring first quarter of the season, but the Bucks fared only slightly better, shooting 48% from the field for a combined 22 points between Lillard and Antetokounmpo to take a 29-28 lead at the buzzer. three from Trent Jr. hit.

Pritchard continued to step up the offense and took the lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter, scoring 11 straight points on three 3-pointers, one from 34 feet off the catch after an assist from White and another from 25 feet of distance after Brown grabbed a rebound after his own miss. The Celtics also got 7 points in the quarter from Brown, who hit three of his four attempts from the free throw line.

The Bucks maintained their slight lead into halftime with a score of 56-53, led by Dame's 16 first-half points (4/9 FG), seven of them in the second quarter.

Aside from Pritchard's great shooting, the Celtics were just 3 of 18 from long range in the first half while committing seven turnovers.

After the halftime break, the Celtics looked more like themselves on both ends, hitting four of their first six shots, two from mid-range by Brown and another on a pick-and-pop triple by Tatum that gave the Celtics the win Lead of 65-61 and a lead of 12-5 in the first three minutes of the quarter.

The Bucks answered right back with a 14-5 run of their own, but Jrue Holiday quickly tied it, getting an uncontested layup and a pullup 3-pointer to tie the game at 75-75. Then Brown took the lead, got a layup from the right side of the cup and went to the same spot on the next possession, where he made a hesitant move to get a step past Prince and pass through Bobby Portis for a 79-75 lead.

The Bucks responded immediately with five straight points to retake the lead, one of which was a technical free throw after an incorrect shot clock violation on a Holiday layup drew the ire of Joe Mazzulla. The Celtics responded with their best performance to date, as White drained a 3-pointer in front of Giannis, then another three-pointer from the top of the arc and finally blocked a Giannis layup, all in one quick sequence.

As the game clock expired, Pritchard buried another three-pointer as time expired to give Boston a 90-82 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.

The hot shooting continued in the fourth quarter as Brown opened up his seventh three-pointer of the night with a layup and an assist in the corner for Pritchard. Another fall-away jumper from Brown gave the Celtics a 15-point lead and a 25-7 run, but the Bucks continued to stay in the game and cut their deficit to less than eight minutes with less than eight minutes to play .

They couldn't get any closer, and the Celtics put an end to a potential comeback, forcing Doc Rivers to leave the bench with just over two minutes to play.

Later this week, Boston has a primetime Eastern Conference Finals rematch with the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, starting at 7 p.m. on ESPN.