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Kyle Kuzma's 14 points in the opening five minutes were the most Milwaukee would get for free; Boston answered with an 18-0 run built by Tatum and George, then held the lead for 74 percent of the game in a 117-97 rout.
A 20-6 start and an 18-0 answer
Kyle Kuzma scored 14 points in the first five minutes and pushed the Bucks to a 20-6 lead, the largest advantage Milwaukee produced in the game.
Jayson Tatum scored the final 10 points of the first quarter to cut the deficit to 27-25, a stretch that stopped Milwaukee from building a second run.
Paul George supplied the first eight points of the second quarter, and his three-pointer in the opening minute gave Boston its first lead at 28-27.
A layup and another three from George capped an 18-0 run that took Boston out of a 20-6 hole and into a lead they did not surrender again.
The pattern was already set four days earlier, when Boston won 109-102 without playing Tatum, and the Celtics arrived in Milwaukee off a 39-point win at Charlotte.
The role players while Tatum sat
Boston led 58-45 at halftime and opened the third quarter with nine straight points to push the margin to 22, after which the Celtics were never ahead by fewer than 15 points.
Tatum finished with 21 points on 6-of-19 shooting, 5-of-11 from three and six assists, and spent the entire fourth quarter on the bench.
George led all starters with 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-10 from distance, plus three rebounds, one assist and two steals for a plus-16 rating.
Mitchell Robinson scored 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting with seven rebounds, four steals and a plus-19 in 18 minutes, while Neemias Queta added 13 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Notably, Payton Pritchard scored 12 points on 4-of-11 three-point shooting for a team-best plus-29, and Derrick White added nine points and seven assists.
The worst opening since 1993-94
At 1-9 the Bucks are in territory they have not occupied since 1993-94, when a 10-loss opening stretch preceded a 20-62 season.
Meanwhile, Kuzma led Milwaukee with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting and 6-of-13 from three, adding four rebounds and two blocks in 31 minutes.
Myles Turner scored three points on 1-of-8 shooting with five rebounds and a career-high seven assists, and has shot 1-of-15 across his last two games.
Boston shot 45-of-95 for 47 percent and 18-of-48 from three, outrebounded Milwaukee 48 to 36, recorded 12 steals and turned 15 Bucks turnovers into 11 points.
In the wider picture, the Celtics move to 8-2 and are scheduled at Philadelphia on Tuesday night before finishing the trip in Toronto; the Bucks are also on the road in New York on Tuesday.
Editor's take: The 1993-94 comparison will follow this group until it wins; history is not destiny, but it sets the schedule of expectations.
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