The Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 138-129 in NBA Cup action. With both teams vying to advance past the group stage, it was an important matchup. A Bulls win would have made them the winners of Group C, while a Celtics win would allow them to compete for a wild card spot in the knockout round based on point differentials. Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 35 points and Nikola Vucevic scored 32 for Chicago. The Boston Celtics improved to 16-3 with the win, while the Bulls dropped to 8-13.
An Up-and-Down First Half
In the first quarter, the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls traded baskets until Boston began to heat up from three. Jaylen Brown continued his recent hot shooting, making three three-pointers early to help the Celtics build a lead. Kristaps Porzingis also got going in his second game back in the lineup, scoring 7 first quarter points. Boston’s 13-2 run gave them a double-digit lead, and the three-point firepower made for a high-scoring first quarter. The Bulls did chip into the Celtics lead, led by Zach Lavine, who had 9 points. At the end of the first quarter, the Boston Celtics led 39-30. Tatum had 12 points and was followed by Brown with 9.
The Bulls came out firing in the second quarter, drilling a couple quick threes. Chicago opened the quarter on a 12-3 run to tie the game. Boston was hot from three in the first quarter, but cooled off in the second, allowing the Bulls to get back into the game and eventually take the lead. There was a long stretch where the Celtics could not buy a bucket no matter how open, and Chicago’s lead grew to as much as nine. But the Boston Celtics fought back, tightening up on both sides of the ball and taking back the lead. At halftime, the game was tied 67-67.
Tatum scored 19 in the first half on 8-of-12 shooting, while White had 16 and Porzingis had 14. The Celtics scoring was coming almost exclusively from the starting five. The Bulls were much more distributed in their scoring, getting solid contributions off the bench. Nikola Vucevic heated up in the second quarter and had 19 first half points, shooting 4-of-6 from three, leading the team.
The Celtics Win Late
Vucevic continued his hot shooting in the third quarter, sparking a 13-2 Bulls run. The Celtics battled back and a Tatum and one made it a one-point game. From there, both teams went back and forth, with the Bulls building a small lead and the Celtic bringing it back. This went on until a Payton Pritchard step back put Boston out front. Tatum was excellent for the Celtics, scoring 13 in the third quarter. It was a competitive affair through three quarters, with the Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls tied 96-96. Derrick White hurt his foot in the third quarter and did not return.
In the fourth quarter, the Chicago Bulls pulled back into the lead off Talen Horton-Tucker’s shooting, going 4-of-4 from three for 16 points. A few Pritchard buckets and a posterizing dunk from Brown gave the lead back to the Celtics. With White out, Pritchard went on a tear, drilling multiple deep threes. He was the Celtics number one scoring option with Tatum subbed out in the fourth and gave Boston a huge boost of momentum down the stretch. When Tatum and the remaining starters returned to the game, the Celtics extended their lead to double-digits with four minutes to go. But then, the Bulls went on a 7-0 run and the Celtics cushion was gone in an instant.
A Tatum dunk and Jrue Holiday three put the Boston Celtics up by eight with two minutes remaining. From there, both teams traded buckets, and for the Celtics, point differential became a factor. With the NBA Cup, the Celtics can only advance in the wild card spot, which is determined by point differential. This led to both teams trying for more points in the final seconds, with Sam Hauser making a buzzer-beating three-pointer. This gave the Boston Celtics a 138-129 win.
Final Thoughts
The Boston Celtics moved to 16-3 with the win and 3-1 in NBA Cup group play. Jayson Tatum finished with 35 points and 14 rebounds and Payton Pritchard scored 29 points off the bench, shooting 7-of-11 from three. The Chicago Bulls fall to 8-13 and 2-2 in NBA Cup group play, eliminating them from advancing. Nikola Vucevic scored 32 points, shooting 6-of-9 from three, while Zach Lavine had 29. For the Boston Celtics to advance, they will be watching the final NBA Cup games closely to see if their +23-point differential is enough.
