The Boston Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 122-119 on Wednesday night with Jayson Tatum scoring 31 points. Giannis Antetokounmpo, the team’s two-time MVP, was out, which helped the Celtics win their seventh straight game.

Payton Pritchard scored 19 points and grabbed six rebounds off the bench for Boston. He scored 10 points in the second quarter, which was more than Milwaukee had as a whole. A full-foot taller player Brook Lopez lost an offensive board, which he took away from him. He also grabbed four rebounds in the second.

For Boston, Derrick White scored 23 points and dished out eight assists, and Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and grabbed eight boards.

One of Damian Lillard’s 32 points was a 3-pointer made in the last second. Bob Portis scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Bucks win their second straight game.

The game was between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference, but the Celtics have an 11-game lead over the second-seeded Bucks in the race for home-court advantage. Any other excitement in the possible playoff preview went away when Antetokounmpo got hurt in his left leg and couldn’t play for the second game in a row.

The score was tied at 10 when the Celtics scored 13 of the next 15 points to take an 11-point lead. Before the end of the first quarter, the Bucks cut the lead to two points. But Boston’s 21-8 run, with 10 points from Pritchard, made it 18 points in the second.

Pritchard had the most assists (three) and rebounds (four) in the quarter. He also stole a board from Lopez, which is likely because Milwaukee’s Patrick Beverley made a “too small” move that made him angry. The seven-foot-one center pushed him away out of anger.

Kristaps Porzingis and Pritchard celebrated by slapping hands and flexing their muscles. Tatum waved his arms to cheer on the crowd, who rose to their feet and gave the 6-foot-1 point guard a standing applause.

Boston was ahead by as many as 21 points, but the Bucks weren’t even close until the last few minutes, when they scored 10 straight points, with eight coming from Portis’s back-to-back long 3-pointers. This cut Boston’s lead to 13 points and made the game a one-possession game.

Tajum made two free throws, and then the Celtics star drove for a layup with 1:38 left to make it 114-107. Portis missed a three-point shot, though.

He also missed the Bucks’ 140–129 win over Phoenix at home on Sunday. There have been five games he hasn’t played in this season. Milwaukee is 3-2 without him.