Jayson tatum pays ultimate respect to Bucks, Giannis Antetokounmpo following Christmas heavyweight battle: ‘They bring out the best in us’

In the collision of two legitimate championship titans this Christmas Day, the Boston Celtics prevailed over the Milwaukee Bucks in a massive 139-118 victory to hand an exciting home treat for the TD Garden crowd.

Given their boiling rivalry and frequent postseason encounter for the past few years, this holiday clash truly means a world for both clubs – as this serves as their rematch from that gruelling seven-game war from last playoffs. As such, the Cs managed to prevail this Sunday and again took over a solo slate atop the Eastern Conference ladder.

While this dub serves as a dominant, statement dub for them, Boston high man Jayson Tatum still has nothing but respect for the opposing Bucks team while holding such high regard for franchise superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.

“They bring out the best in us,” Tatum said, who detonated with his 41 points and seven boards to rally the Celtics (h/t MassLive’s Souichi Terada). “We know they’re a team we’re going to see pretty often, and Giannis is, if not the best, one of the best players in the league today. I got a lot of respect for him and the things he’s accomplished, and just how he approaches the game. 

“When we’re not playing, I like watching the Bucks play. He’s a big reason why.”

The Celtics torched the Bucks from way downtown, connecting 19 of their 39 threes attempted en route to a convincing 48.7 percent efficiency throughout the course of the game. Even in inside production, they managed to feast over by overpowering Milwaukee’s 40 markers with their 54 inside the paint points.

This admiration given by Tatum is truly a mark of sportsmanship – such a classy remark in light of the rising momentum of their potential meetup again in this season’s playoff arena. 

Both Boston and Milwaukee are still set to meet for two more games this 2022-23 season, with the next one coming up on. Feb. 14. As such, we can only hope that these two title powerhouses will remain healthy for another classic clash.