This showdown against the Bucks tested Jrue Holiday and the Celtics

The final six minutes were hairy because the Bucks never relent, and Damian Lillard turned into himself in the fourth quarter. Yet, the Celtics walked away with a 119-116 win because they made enough plays. Jaylen Brown bounced back from his struggles in the past few games, 7-foot-3 inch Kristaps Porzingis played big in a big game and a flu-ridden Jayson Tatum pulled down 11 rebounds.

This was an early-season test the Celtics passed Wednesday at TD Garden. They played 42 impressive minutes against the rival Milwaukee Bucks, unquestionably the better team, playing harder, chasing loose balls, getting key rebounds, unafraid to attack Giannis Antetokounmpo on defense, flourishing with unselfish style that will win most nights.

The central storyline was Jrue Holiday facing his former team for the first time since they abruptly traded him to the Portland Trail Blazers to get Lillard. The moment he was acquired by the Celtics to be their starting point guard, Holiday has been anticipating this matchup.

Get Breaking Sports Alerts

Be the first to know the latest sports news as it happens, and get the Globe's most interesting reporting right to your inbox.

Enter Email

The love was apparent. He greeted teammates in the Bucks locker room before the game. Milwaukee coaches and staff walked by during his pre-game shooting routine to slap hands and catch up. Holiday was a popular teammate, one of the centerpieces of the 2021 championship team.

Even after the game, former teammate Khris Middleton ducked his head into the Celtics locker room for some final goodbyes. Offensively, the night was a struggle for Holiday ―1-for-8 shooting, 5 points — but he made enough defensive plays, including tenacious defense in the post on Antetokounmpo, who finished with just 21 points on 7-for-20 shooting.

Lillard was 7 for 18 before scoring 11 points in an eight-minute stretch of the fourth quarter. The Bucks showed their mettle down the stretch but the Celtics held on, knowing they’ll face Milwaukee three more times in the regular season and potentially in the playoffs.

“I think the effort was 10, toughness was a 10, execution, we could have been better down the stretch,” Holiday told the Globe. “I think in that last three minutes, we had the bigger lead and we kind of need to take our time, get a good shot that we want instead of rushing.”

The Bucks came into TD Garden winners of five consecutive games but the Giannis-Lillard combination has not worked out as expected. Milwaukee can score with anybody but is porous defensively, 23rd in the league in points allowed and 20th in field goal percentage allowed. The Bucks traded their best defender (Holiday) to get Lillard and the results have been shootouts and their offense has been good enough to win 10 of 15 games.

On Wednesday, the Celtics jumped out to a 10-0 lead and led the entire way, including 109-93 with four minutes, 57 seconds left before the Bucks rallied. But the Celtics knew that run was coming. They may have played passively in the final five minutes but didn’t underestimate the opponent.

“They’re always going to go hard, a lot of talent, a lot of scoring over there,” Holiday said. “Sixteen really isn’t that much (of a lead). I think that’s always a good test for us to come down, especially in late game and be able to execute, finish out games.”

During his introductory press conference in October, Holiday said it would be “fun” to compete against his former team. The man of few words and emotions doubled down on that statement.

“For sure (it was fun), they’re a good team,” he said. “It’s always fun to compete against the best, kind of test yourself as a team and see where you’re at. It’s also always fun to win. Again, based off the talent, based off the history, yeah we think that it’s somebody we could possibly see in a crucial playoff series.”

It’s only November but this provided a good opportunity to see how the Celtics matched up against a fellow elite. They split with the Philadelphia 76ers, lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, edged the Miami Heat and notched two wins over the New York Knicks. But this was their first game against one of their peers, a longtime rival that retooled by adding one of the league’s most dynamic scorers.

But the Celtics countered with Holiday and Porzingis, a bigger focus on defense and the ability to play different styles because of their versatility. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was fascinated to see his team’s response, especially after Monday’s brutal overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets, a game they essentially gave away with their lackadaisical play in the final minutes.

“I think what’s more important over the course of the year, I felt like tonight it was what were the first 10, 11 games before the (recent) road trip,” Mazzulla said. “Where we were playing with high effort; we were playing with connectivity and we showed moments of great execution. As long as we play hard and as long as we’re connected, we can constantly get better at the execution piece and I saw that tonight.”

The Bucks weren’t the team they’re going to be in April but neither are the Celtics. They are still seeking a complete, 48-minute game. There have been moments where they’ve been close, such as Wednesday, but they realize they have to keep pushing themselves to improve because mere talent will win on most nights. The Celtics want to avoid complacency at all costs, and they played like the more desperate and passionate team against their arch rival Bucks, and it paid off with a confidence-boosting win.

“I was definitely impressed with our mindset,” Mazzulla said. “It’s something we have to keep all the time. I thought tonight we got our effort back. I think we got our connectivity back on the offense end. We’ve just got to fight for that. I know it’s a long year, but if we can do that and complement each other, the more dangerous we could be.”

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at . Follow him .