Celtics breeze into Jaylen Brown showdown with blowout of Bucks

The Boston Celtics took care of business against yet another Eastern Conference also-ran Sunday night, overwhelming the Milwaukee Bucks 117-97 at Fiserv Forum.

Paul George scored 27 points on 11-of-18 shooting with two steals to lead the Celtics, who controlled the final 3 1/2 quarters after trailing 20-6 out of the gate. Jayson Tatum lacked George’s efficiency (6 for 19) but tied his season high with five 3-pointers en route to a 21-point, six-assist effort.

Down low, centers Neemias Queta and Mitchell Robinson combined for 25 points and nine of the Celtics’ 20 offensive rebounds. Robinson shot 6 for 6 while playing lockdown defense in his best outing as a Celtic.

Boston has cleaned up against weaker competition so far this season. Seven of its first 10 games were against the teams that entered Sunday ranked 10th (Charlotte), 12th (Orlando), 13th (Brooklyn), 14th (Chicago) and 15th (last-place Milwaukee) in the East standings.

The Celtics won all seven of those games, five of them by double digits. Their other three were an opening-night loss at Detroit in which they blew a 22-point lead, a home win over the defending champion New York Knicks and a loss to Houston on the second night of a back-to-back.

Next up for the Celtics is one of their most challenging — and certainly most anticipated — early-season matchups. They’ll visit Philadelphia on Tuesday for the first official meeting between Jaylen Brown and his former team.

Brown, dealt to the rival 76ers in a controversial offseason trade, has helped the star-studded Sixers surge to the top of the Eastern Conference in these opening weeks. He scored a game-high 29 points Sunday afternoon as Philly beat the upset-minded Bulls 127-121 to improve to an East-best 9-2.

The 8-2 Celtics sit a half-game back in second place.

“I think it should be fun,” Brown told reporters in Philadelphia. “(It’s) a good opportunity for our team to be able to show that we’re made of, so I’m looking forward to it. A big-time matchup, two heavyweights in the East. Let’s get it.”

Tuesday’s showdown also will be George’s first game against his old squad — the 36-year-old played two injury-plagued seasons in Philadelphia before coming over in the Brown deal — and the Celtics’ first time facing the Sixers since collapsing in their first-round playoff series this past spring.

And, of course, it will be the first-ever matchup between former Celtics co-stars Tatum and Brown, whose lingering feud has dominated headlines this season.

The two have not spoken since the trade. Though Tatum has said he would “welcome” a conversation with his longtime running mate, Brown indicated that won’t happen before they face off on Tuesday.

“There’s nothing to talk about,” he told reporters. “He’s on his side; I’m on my side. We’re playing basketball. Both of us are trying to win. So there’s nothing to talk about. Just check the ball up.”

Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla fielded a surprise starting lineup Sunday, swapping veteran point guard Mike Conley into the spot previously filled by players like Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez.

It was Conley’s 1,144th start in the NBA — fourth-most among active players behind LeBron James, DeMar DeRozan and Kevin Durant — but his first with Boston. Signed this offseason to be a seldom-used locker-room leader, the 39-year-old had played just 21 minutes over the first 10 games, most of them in garbage time. He became the 10th different Celtic to start a game this season.

The early returns from that new-look starting group were … not great.

Conley turned it over on the Celtics’ second possession, Neemias Queta missed four straight shots at the rim and Milwaukee’s Kyle Kuzma hit four 3-pointers in the opening five minutes as the Bucks sprinted out to a 20-6 lead.

A timeout and a round of subs righted the ship for Boston.

Mazzulla sent in Robinson, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser at the 7:03 mark of the first quarter, and the Celtics scored 27 of the next 34 points.

Robinson was especially impactful during Boston’s speedy comeback. Listed as questionable for the game with an illness, he tallied two steals, one block, two offensive rebounds, a putback and a lob dunk in his first seven-minute shift.

Boston’s top free agent addition seems to have turned a corner after his choppy start to the season. Robinson has looked much steadier in his last three games, finishing Sunday’s with 12 points, seven rebounds, four steals and a plus-19 in 18 minutes.

With a minute remaining in the first, Robinson intercepted a Kasparas Jakucionis inbounds pass, and Tatum cashed in with a 3-pointer at the other end. Tatum scored 16 points in the opening quarter. Boston’s defense held Milwaukee scoreless for more than six consecutive minutes.

The Celtics pulled ahead moments into the second after a series of hustle plays on the offensive glass by Baylor Scheierman, Luka Garza and Derrick White set up a 3-pointer and an open layup by George.

Another George three on the next possession capped an 18-0 Celtics run. He buried a total of four triples in the second quarter, plus a nifty leaning jumper, as part of a 20-point first half. The Celtics led 58-45 at the break, flipping a 14-point deficit into a 13-point advantage.

Boston bookended halftime with a 13-2 run. Eight of those points came via Queta, who atoned for his prior misses by making four field goals in a three-minute span.

An off-balance left-handed buzzer-beater by Hauser sent the Celtics into the final quarter with a 91-74 lead. A string of rapid-fire 3-pointers early in the fourth (Pritchard, Pritchard again and Hauser) put the game out of reach.

The lopsided margin, which peaked at 23 points, allowed Mazzulla to rest most of his top players in the second half. No Celtic played more than 30 minutes, with Tatum pacing all starters with 29. He sat out the entire fourth quarter for the second straight game.

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