NBA Notes: Celtics, Jaylen Brown, Bucks, Kenneth Lofton Jr.

Celtics

Guard/forward Jaylen Brown said the Celtics are still aiming for the top seed in the Eastern Conference following Thursday’s blowout win over the Bucks.

“It does matter,” Brown told reporters about the possibility of landing the No. 1 seed. “We want to finish out the season strong and see what happens.”

As for dismantling the Bucks, Brown had a different spin. He suggested Milwaukee will be a different team should they meet again in the playoffs.

“This don’t really mean much,” Brown said. “If we play them again, we’ve got to be ready to take their best shot.”

• Fellow wing Jayson Tatum added that the Celtics wanted to send a message early. “We responded well from the jump,” he said. “That’s all that I wanted and we wanted as a team, regardless of if we won or not, just to respond and play better than we did last game.”

Bucks

Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo said he’s not overly concerned with the loss to the Celtics. He did add, however, the Bucks can’t just show up and expect to win. 

“We know what the deal is,” Antetokounmpo told reporters. “If you’re not focused and you don’t play hard, they are going to kick our (butt). Simple as that. There is no level of concern. It’s a fact. If we play the same way, we’ll have the same outcome. We’ve got to have some pride.”

• Bucks forward Khris Middleton received “three or four stitches” after taking an elbow to the face and being forced to leave the game, coach Mike Budenholzer said. Middleton isn’t expected to miss any time.

G League

Grizzlies power forward Kenneth Lofton Jr. has been named G League Rookie of the Year, the league announced.

Lofton, 20, is 6-foot-7 and averaged 20.2 points and 10.5 rebounds in 17 games for the Memphis Hustle. 

Santa Cruz Warriors guard Lester Quinones and Rio Grande Valley Vipers forward Darius Days placed second and third in the voting, respectively.