Celtics 138-129 Bulls (Nov 29, 2024) Game Summary

CHICAGO — — Jayson Tatum scored 35 points and had 14 rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics past the Chicago Bulls 138-129 in Friday night’s NBA Cup pool game.

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 clinched a spot in the Cup quarterfinals with a win. Atlanta, which defeated Cleveland earlier in the day, clinched the Group C spot and advances to the knockout round.

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

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

The teams traded double-digit scoring runs late in the second quarter before going into halftime tied at 67.

Takeaways

Celtics: Boston had its full 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 left 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 state

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

Next

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

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