Thursday night's showdown between the Boston Celtics and the Milwaukee Bucks was expected to be a back-and-forth battle. However, it's turned out to be the complete opposite of that, as the Celtics made the game an absolute one-sided affair.

Boston had an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter and that ballooned to 28 by halftime. After three quarters the Celtics have managed to build a 40-point advantage, 114-74. The win was virtually in the bag for the Celtics before the final period even started.

“The Celtics look fantastic right now, and the Bucks look like they just came home after scoring 38,000 points on Indiana last night,” Dan Devine of Yahoo Sports said while seeing Boston wallop Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks.

Even Kevin Garnett chined in: “Bucks playing possum or are the Celtics in playoff mode too much dog for em… 🤷🏾‍♂️ It’s early but let me know… haaaa 💯”

Here's one from John Hollinger of The Athletic: “If this Bucks-Celtics margin holds, Pythagorus gonna get a lot of @ mentions heading into Eastern Conference playoffs.”

After just three quarters, Jaysom Tatum alrready had 40 points, Jaylen Brown had scored 30. As a team, the Celtics entered the fourth period having knocked down 17 of 31 attempts from behind the arc and shot 58.9 percent overall from the field. There is just no stopping the Celtics from making a huge statement against Bucks, and they are doing it in enemy territory.

Here are some more reactions to the blowout:

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The Bucks will face the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday for a chance to recover from this bludgeoning at the hands of the Boston, which will take on next the Utah Jazz at home on Friday.