ILWAUKEE - The best description of the third quarter came from Kenny Anderson. ''It was a blur,'' he said.

Then he provided a play-by-play that sounded more like something out of a comic book than an NBA game:

''Pow. Pow. Bam. Pow. Bam. We're down 10. Pow. Bam. Pow. Damn. We're down 20.''

But none of the Celtics were laughing. They didn't even smile from the time the second half began until they left Bradley Center. The starters were on the bench for the last minutes of the fourth quarter, watching the Milwaukee Bucks complete their 109-90 rout last night.