In the opening round series against the Brooklyn Nets, Tatum and the Boston Celtics were the ones playing physical and targeted defense against the stars of their opponent. In Game 1 against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, the visitors walked into The Garden and battled Tatum physically from opening tip to the final buzzer.
Tatum still produced in spurts, going for 21 points and 6 assists, but he was somewhat inefficient getting there with 19 field goal attempts and had to work particularly hard just to get that many shots off. Credit to the Milwaukee Bucks for setting the tone to start the series and coming up with a gameplan that specifically limited Tatum in ways they could deal with.