NBA

Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls

· NBA Cup - Group Play
16-3, 9-1 Away
Final
138 - 129

8-13, 2-7 Home

Tatum scores 35, Pritchard adds 29 off the bench and Celtics outlast Bulls 138-129

Jaylen Brown absolutely posterizes Jalen Smith

Reserve Payton Pritchard added a season-best 29 points, including 11 straight during a fourth-quarter run that gave the Celtics the lead for good.

Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 32 points and had 11 rebounds for Chicago, which could have secured a spot in the Cup quarterfinals with a victory. Atlanta, which defeated Cleveland earlier in the day, secured the Group C berth and will advance to the knockout round.

Boston still as a shot at the wild-card berth but it depends on the outcome of Tuesday’s games.

Zach LaVine added 29 points for the Bulls, including four 3-pointers to become the franchise's career leader in made 3s.

Tied at 108, Pritchard made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to start an 11-4 run that gave Boston breathing room. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis each added 21 points.

Takeaways Celtics: Boston had its complete roster available for the first time this season but only three reserves played significant minutes. It didn’t hurt that Pritchard, who played 28 minutes and most of the fourth quarter, was part of that trio.

Bulls: LaVine’s third 3-pointer with 3:05 to play pulled the Bulls within 125-122 and made him the franchise’s career leader. He finished with four 3s and now has 1,051, two more than Kirk Hinrich.

Key moment Pritchard hit a deep 3-pointer with 5:25 to play to cap his 11-point spurt and put Boston ahead 119-112. He finished the night 7 for 11 from behind the arc and scored all but five of the Celtics’ 34 bench points.

Key stat The Celtics were 15 for 23 from the floor in the fourth quarter.

Up next Boston travels to Cleveland on Sunday. Chicago welcomes Brooklyn on Monday night.

Regular Season Series

BOS leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Bulls: 29.1%
Celtics: 70.9%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 138 - 129
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 138 - 129
4th 0.0 (00:00) [Celtics] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (REPLAY SUPPORTS CALL) 138 - 129
4th 0.0 Sam Hauser makes 25-foot three point shot (Jayson Tatum assists) 138 - 129
4th 1.1 Sam Hauser enters the game for Al Horford 135 - 129

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/bos.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBOS https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/chi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHI
49-98 FG 48-93
50.0 Field Goal % 51.6
23-54 3PT 20-51
42.6 Three Point % 39.2
17-23 FT 13-16
73.9 Free Throw % 81.3
51 Rebounds 43
11 Offensive Rebounds 5
40 Defensive Rebounds 38
24 Assists 28
6 Steals 7
2 Blocks 2
9 Turnovers 8
0 Team Turnovers 0
9 Total Turnovers 8
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
17 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 4
16 Fast Break Points 17
50 Points in Paint 52
13 Fouls 17
13 Largest Lead 9

Game Information

United Center

Location: Chicago, IL
Attendance: 19,798 · Capacity:

2024-25 Atlantic Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Boston 49 19 .721 - W2
New York 42 24 .636 6 L1
Toronto 24 44 .353 25 L1
Philadelphia 23 44 .343 25.5 W1
Brooklyn 23 45 .338 26 W1

2024-25 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 56 11 .836 - L1
Milwaukee 38 29 .567 18 L1
Indiana 37 29 .561 18.5 L1
Detroit 37 31 .544 19.5 L2
Chicago 28 39 .418 28 L1
Full Standings

NBA News

Utah takes on Chicago, looks to end 9-game slide

Utah takes on Chicago, looks to end 9-game slide

Chicago Bulls (28-39, 10th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Utah Jazz (15-53, 15th in the Western Conference)

Edwards leads Minnesota against Indiana after 41-point game

Edwards leads Minnesota against Indiana after 41-point game

Indiana Pacers (37-29, fifth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (40-29, seventh in the Western Conference)

Trail Blazers play the Wizards in cross-conference contest

Trail Blazers play the Wizards in cross-conference contest

Washington Wizards (15-51, 15th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (29-39, 12th in the Western Conference)

Clippers face the Cavaliers on 3-game win streak

Clippers face the Cavaliers on 3-game win streak

Cleveland Cavaliers (56-11, first in the Eastern Conference) vs. Los Angeles Clippers (38-30, eighth in the Western Conference)

Phoenix hosts Toronto in cross-conference game

Phoenix hosts Toronto in cross-conference game

Toronto Raptors (24-44, 11th in the Eastern Conference) vs. Phoenix Suns (31-37, 11th in the Western Conference)