In Chicago, Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Sam Hauser and Al Horford each scored 23 points, and the Boston Celtics, who are currently the top team in the NBA, won their ninth consecutive game by defeating the Chicago Bulls 124-113.
Hauser made seven of Boston’s 21 3-pointers, while Horford made 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. Derrick White scored 17 points and Payton Pritchard added 15 points and eight assists. The Celtics got closer to their season-best winning streak even though Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis didn't play.
Boston scored nine consecutive points early in the fourth quarter to go up by eight and managed to maintain the lead till the end. With 3:04 remaining, it was a six-point game when Luke Kornet scored on a tip-in and Tatum drove for a layup, making it 117-107.
DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 26 points. Alex Caruso, Nikola Vucevic, and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 14 as the Bulls lost their second game in a row.
In the closing minute of the third quarter, Pritchard made a finger-roll layup and two free throws to start a nine-point spurt for Boston after Chicago’s Dalen Terry had the crowd excited with a powerful tip-in dunk. Hauser then made a 3 in the opening minute of the fourth to make it 100-92.
Boston, with high shooting accuracy, got 66-60 halftime lead with Tatum scoring 19 points and Sam Hauser adding 14.
The Celtics made 13 of 27 3-pointers, with Hauser making 4 of 5 and Horford making three. Tatum scored a step-back jumper and a 3-pointer to make it 66-55 with just over a minute remaining in the first half, before Vucevic and White narrowed the lead for Chicago.
The Bulls brought guard/forward Javonte Green back to the team by signing him to a 10-day contract for a second stint. Green was previously with the team after being acquired from Boston as part of a three-team trade involving Washington in March 2021. He played 10 games this season for Golden State’s G League affiliate.
