Statement made: Celtics race past Bucks early, then hold on late to take Round 1 between Eastern Conference favorites

Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 26 points, going 10 of 16 from the field. Jayson Tatum had 23 points and 11 rebounds, and scored five points in the final 90 seconds to keep Milwaukee at arm’s length. Brook Lopez had 28 and Damian Lillard 27 for the Bucks, including 11 in the fourth as Milwaukee cut a 20-point deficit to three.

A late flurry from the visitors made it close at TD Garden, but the Celtics hung on to win, 119-116, in a game they led by double digits for nearly the entire length.

It took the Celtics about two and a half minutes to score the first 10 points of Wednesday’s showdown with the Milwaukee Bucks. And the other major power in the Eastern Conference never truly recovered.

Last year, the Celtics pushed toward the top of the Eastern Conference behind their highly accurate and high-volume 3-point shooting. They made more than 39 percent of their 3-pointers in 37 of 82 regular-season games.

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They entered Wednesday night’s game with the NBA’s best record, but this hot start has generally not been sparked by long-range proficiency. Before facing the Bucks, they’d shot better than 39 percent in just 3 of 14 games this year.

That could be partly due to getting comfortable with the new personnel, and opponents have some say. But there’s also luck involved, and it felt as if the team was due to catch fire from beyond the arc.

They certainly got a lift early. The Celtics started 10 for 16 from the 3-point line, and seven different players connected in the first half. The bench was particularly impactful. Sam Hauser, Payton Pritchard, and Al Horford provided a jolt of early energy, combining to go 9-of-12 from the field and 6-of-8 from the 3-point line before halftime.

The Bucks, meanwhile, missed their first seven shots and struggled to make layups, a much simpler task. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Lillard, and Khris Middleton were just 7 for 30 from the field before the break. In his first game against his former team, Jrue Holiday was tasked with guarding the much bigger Antetokounmpo whenever Horford was on the bench, and he held up well.

But given these shooting disparities, the Celtics’ 67-53 halftime lead probably at least felt manageable for the Bucks after they trailed by as many as 21.

Brown started the game hitting a catch-and-shoot attempt from the right corner, and it felt important given his recent missteps. His season-high for assists in a game this year was six, and he topped that less than five minutes into the third quarter, with several coming as part of his developing two-man game with Porzingis, who converted three dunks on feeds from Brown.

A potential turning point arrived midway through the period, when Antetokounmpo easily could have been called for a charge when he plowed into Holiday. There was no call, and Porzingis collected his fourth foul moments later and went to the bench for the rest of the quarter.

But Brown steadied Boston. After a bit of a third-quarter scoring spree, he added his eighth assist when he lofted an alley-oop to Hauser on a fast-break that made it 94-79. Prior to that, Milwaukee had several good chances to really make a run, but it seemed as if each ended with a botched layup or a turnover.

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at . Follow him .