3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ Christmas win over Boston Celtics

Bobby Portis showed signs of rust in his return but gifted the Milwaukee Bucks a double-double regardless

Joining DiVincenzo in the protocols recently was Bobby Portis, who missed the last four games for the Bucks leading up to Christmas. Portis was putting up career-bests across the board before he was abruptly sidelined, and the Bucks undoubtedly missed him in that brief stretch. He was met with a warm welcome by the Fiserv Forum crowd when he checked into yesterday’s game, and he picked up right where he left off, for the most part.

Portis gave the Bucks a big boost offensively by chipping in 16 points on 6-of-13 shooting, hitting two of his four attempts from 3-point range in the process. Whether he was battling down low for the score or stretching the floor and knocking down a three, the Bucks needed every last bucket from Portis to walk away with the win. Although his scoring helped, his rebounding was equally as helpful as he pulled down 10 rebounds as well. Six of those rebounds came on the offensive glass as Portis created countless second chance opportunities for Milwaukee, which clearly helped the champs claw their way back into this one. Portis even added in four assists, having shown off the passing skills at 6-foot-10.

The one thing that held Portis back was the four turnovers he totaled in the matchup. They were simply sluggish as the big man seemingly lost control of the ball several times. Nevertheless, the turnovers will not be remembered as the Bucks got the victory in the end. Coach Budenholzer is known to be mindful of how he distributes minutes, so Portis was limited to 22 minutes in his long-awaited return. Given what he contributed, this was yet another great outing for Portis in what continues to be a career year for him. Welcome back to the lineup, Bobby.