Celtics Outlast Bucks 96-89 in Kyrie Irving, Giannis Antetokounmpo Duel

Eight days ago, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks bested the Boston Celtics at TD Garden behind 37 points from the Greek Freak.   

But on Thursday, it was Kyrie Irving and Al Horford who led the way as the Celtics exacted their revenge with a 96-89 win at UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

Irving finished with 24 points and seven assists, and he worked brilliantly in tandem with Horford—who dropped a team-high 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three. 

Irving was particularly electric, and it all started with his prolific package of dribble-drive moves. 

Although he was limited to 17 points on 25 shots in the teams' last meeting, Irving showed no hesitation against Milwaukee's long and strong defenders—Antetokounmpo included—as he attacked the rim with signature aplomb: 

Irving also broke out crossovers and spin moves galore to keep the Celtics afloat as he and Horford combined to make 11 of the Celtics' 14 first-half field goals: 

Irving continued to slice his way into the paint through the second half, but instead of scoring he collapsed the Bucks defense and kicked out to Horford for a few treys that helped the Celtics distance themselves down the stretch, as the NBA on TNT documented: 

Yahoo Sports' Ben Rohrbach noted the two seemed in sync despite playing in just their fifth game together: 

Those two aside, the Celtics' offense was rather anemic. 

Jayson Tatum (12 points) and Aron Baynes (12 points) were the only other Boston scorers who finished in double-figures, and no player outside of Irving and Horford made more than three shots. 

The Bucks were more balanced, as three of their five starters had at least 15 points, but 17 turnovers and a 47-37 rebounding margin in favor of the Celtics ultimately hindered their ability to keep pace. 

True to form, though, Antetokounmpo stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high 28 points (10-of-21 shooting), 10 rebounds and seven assists.

Antetokounmpo also nearly added one snatched soul to his final line after he attempted to uncork a Dunk of the Year candidate on Baynes' head: 

But despite Antetokounmpo's best efforts to intimidate Boston's frontcourt, the Celtics refused to back down. 

Head coach Brad Stevens tried to make the Greek Freak scrap for every point, and the strategy proved successful as Horford, Semi Ojeleye and the rest of the Celtics' burly defenders stood tall below the free-throw line. 

Now off until Sunday, Antetokounmpo and Co. will regroup as they attempt to get back on the winning track against the Atlanta Hawks. 

The Celtics, meanwhile, will continue their road journey Saturday when they square off against the Miami Heat at AmericanAirlines Arena.