CHICAGO — Whether Jayson Tatum misses a game or Jaylen Brown is out the next night, the Boston Celtics continue to improve. Now win nine in a row for the team with the best record in the NBA.
Tatum scored 26 points, Sam Hauser and Al Horford added 23 each, and the Celtics made enough plays to beat the Chicago Bulls 124-113 on Saturday night.
“We’re just hungry for more,” Hauser said. “It’s not in our character to just mail it in for the rest of the season.”
Hauser made 7 of 8 3-pointers, while Horford made five of Boston’s 21 from beyond the arc. Derrick White scored 17. Payton Pritchard added 15 points and eight assists, and Luke Kornet grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Celtics were able to pull off two wins after their best stretch of the season, even though Brown (sprained right ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring) were out of the game.
Playing its fifth game in seven nights, Boston scored nine straight goals to go up by eight early in the fourth quarter and remained in the lead the rest of the way. It was a six-point game when Luke Kornet scored on a tip-in and Tatum – who missed Friday’s game in Detroit to rest his ailing right ankle – made a layup to make it 117- 107 with 3:04 left.
“Different people, different guys, 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 understand what we’re trying to do, how we’re trying to play. Guys just stay ready and take advantage of opportunities.
DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 26 points. Alex Caruso, Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 14 points as the Bulls lost their second straight game. Chicago shot 57% and committed just seven turnovers, but was outscored 23-2 on second-chance points.
Chicago’s Dalen Terry got the crowd roaring late in the third quarter with a thunderous dunk off a missed DeRozan jumper to give the Bulls a one-point lead. They led 92-91 in the final minute of the quarter when Pritchard made a one-finger layup and two free throws to start a nine-point spurt for Boston. Hauser capped the scoring with a 3 in the first minute of the fourth to make it 100-92.
Tatum scored 19 points and Sam Hauser added 14 points as hot-shooting Boston took a 66-60 halftime lead.
The Celtics made 13 of 27 3-pointers, with Hauser hitting 4 of 5 and Horford scoring three. Tatum buried a step-back jumper and a 3 to make it 66-55 with just over a minute to play, before Vucevic made a hook shot for Chicago and White connected from beyond the arc to make it a six-point game.
The Bulls signed guard/forward Javonte Green to a 10-day contract, bringing him back for a second stint with the team. Green spent parts of three seasons in Chicago after being acquired from Boston in a three-team trade involving Washington in March 2021. He played in 10 games this season for Golden State’s G League affiliate.
FOLLOWING
Celtics: Visit Atlanta on Monday.
Bulls: Host Washington on Monday.
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