When Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo spoke after their loss to the Knicks, his words resonated with the squad. “We’ve got Boston in two days. If we don’t compete, we’re gonna lose by 30,” the Greek Freak said transparently. Within the first half of the game against the Celtics, the Bucks stood at an 11-point advantage. After a dismal start to the campaign, there was a glimmer of a spark that changed their trajectory. Unfortunately, they came up against Joe Mazzlla.

Antetokonmpo cracked the tough-nosed Celtics defense, pouring in 43 points at the Fiserv Forum. Even with Lillard fairly quiet in the first half, the Bucks rode on their franchise icon’s back. But it’s never wise to count out the reigning champs. A huge part of the reason is the mastermind in Mazzulla, who operates the system. And when speaking about their comeback win, Lillard took a guess of who may have inspired it.

“I think they came in the locker room and the coaches probably got on them and told them you know we got to get up, be more aggressive. We got to pick up our things and do things harder,” the Bucks guard speculated. But if he could name a turning point, Lillard felt it was the Celtics’ ambition to start the second half.

“Made us call the first time out. That’s a popular thing around our league it’s like make them call the first timeout and you know assert yourself and establish yourself and I thought they did that in the third. We allowed them to get themselves going and kinda get right back into the game,” said Lillard.

With a double-digit lead to evaporate, rather than gradually ease the pressure, Joe Mazzulla’s Celtics began with a barrage. They began the third quarter scoring 9 straight points, instantly putting the Bucks on the backfoot. And once they stumbled, the Shamrocks multiplied their intensity.

From scoring 69 points in the first half, Milwaukee could only manage 15 due to the Celtics’ high-octane defense. Even though they were at home, Boston’s ball moving and tenacity completely changed the direction of the wind. And the third-quarter fury might well have been the catalyst.