Whether Jayson Tatum misses a game or Jaylen Brown misses the next night, the Boston Celtics are going to be on track. This is the ninth straight win for the team with the best record in the NBA.
Tatum scored 26 points, Sam Hauser and Al Horford each added 23 points, and the Celtics made enough plays down the stretch to beat the Chicago Bulls 124-113 on Saturday night.
“We're just hungry for more,” Hauser said. “It's not in our nature to just mail it out for the rest of the season.”
Hauser made 7 of 8 3-pointers and Horford made 5 of Boston's 21 from beyond the arc. Derrick White had 17 points, Peyton Pritchard had 15 points and eight assists, and Luke Cornett had 13 rebounds.
The Celtics are two wins away from their best winning streak of the season despite the absence of Brown (right ankle sprain) and Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring).
Boston, playing its fifth game in seven nights, scored nine straight points early in the fourth quarter to take an eight-point lead and held the lead for the rest of the game. Luke Cornett scored on a tip-in and Tatum, who had missed Friday's game at Detroit to rest his sore right ankle, made a layup to make it 117-107 with 3:04 left. It was a game with a 6 point difference.
“Different people, different players are ready to step up when their number is called,” said Horford, who missed the Pistons game with a sprained left big toe. “We all know what we're going to do and how we're going to play. The players are just preparing and taking advantage of their opportunities.”
DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 26 points. Alex Caruso, Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 14 points for the Bulls, who suffered their second straight loss. Chicago shot 57% from the field and committed just seven turnovers, but was outscored 23-2 in second-chance points.
Chicago's Darren Terry made a shocking chip-in dunk off a missed jumper by DeRozan late in the third quarter, giving the Bulls a one-point lead and sending the crowd into a roar. Boston led 92-91 at the end of the quarter when Pritchard hit a finger-roll layup and two free throws to start a nine-point spurt. Hauser made a 3 shortly into the fourth to make it 100-92.
Tatum scored 19 points and Sam Hauser added 14 points, giving Boston a 66-60 lead at halftime.
The Celtics made 13 of 27 3-pointers, with Hauser making 4 of 5 and Horford making 3. Tatum sank a step-back jumper and a three to make it 66-55 with just over a minute left, but then Vucevic hit a hook shot and Chicago White connected from beyond the arc to make it a six-point lead.
The Bulls signed guard/forward Javonte Green to a 10-day contract, returning him to the team for the second time. Green spent parts of three seasons in Chicago after being acquired from Boston in March 2021 as part of a three-team trade that included Washington. He played in 10 games for Golden State's G League affiliate this season.
next
Celtics: Visit Atlanta on Monday.
Bulls: Host Washington on Monday.
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