Fresh off of Monday night’s disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets, the Boston Celtics once again found themselves in need of a rebound on Wednesday at home against the Chicago Bulls. Driven by a big performance from Kristaps Porzingis and a huge second quarter (41 points), the Celtics avoided back-to-back losses once again, keeping the Bulls at arms’ length all night to score a 122-100 win.
Porzingis was the star for the Celtics tonight, scoring 34 points (26 in the first half) and tying a career-high with eight made three-pointers, adding 11 rebounds, three assists and three steals for good measure. With Al Horford and Sam Hauser absent, the remainder of the Boston rotation stepped up with a balanced, all-around performance. Jaylen Brown scored 28 points and Derrick White added 22 — his second consecutive outing of 20+, an encouraging sign after a rough month of January. For Chicago, Coby White and Patrick Williams scored 16 points apiece.
It was the Kristaps Porzingis Show in the early minutes of this game, as the Latvian big man fueled a strong start for the Celtics. He scored 13 points in just five minutes of game time to open play for the evening, including a trio of three pointers that seemed to get deeper with every make. They ripped off a 12-3 run to start the night’s scoring, but after a timeout from Chicago coach Billy Donovan, the Bulls showed they intended to fight back tonight. Chicago battled back to within one possession and held there for the remainder of the quarter, and the Celtics entered the second with a 26-23 lead.
The Celtics righted the ship early in the second quarter. With a pair of Derrick White threes and some strong play from the bench — along with a successful challenge by Mazzulla midway through the frame — they pushed ahead by 10 points with just over seven minutes to play in the half. Chicago’s offense cooled down substantially in the quarter, with their three-point percentage dipping down near the 30% mark at one point, and some sloppy ball management leading to seven turnovers in the first half.
Though they looked on the verge of compiling a massive lead in the quarter, the Celtics’ momentum tailed off slightly as halftime neared. Their defense looked leaky, especially in transition, and Chicago was able to string together some three-point makes in the closing minutes. After leading by 19 at one point, Boston wasn’t able to cross the 20-point threshold. A buzzer-beating two-point jumper from Jayson Tatum sent them into the break with a 67-51 lead.
It wasn’t long before the Celtics finally established a 20-point lead, if only for a moment, claiming a 21-point edge for about 15 seconds early in the third quarter. The Celtics were playing a dangerous game with Chicago, however. They played at pace and scored effectively, but struggled to get back on defense in a timely fashion, allowing the Bulls’ offense to find its own momentum.
Fortunately, the Celtics benefitted from a lucky break just when it seemed like the Bulls were making inroads. Chicago guard Coby White connected on a three-pointer to cut the Boston lead down to 15, prompting a timeout from Mazzulla, but on a replay, it was determined that White stepped out of bounds prior to connecting on the shot. In the ensuing minutes of play, the Celtics connected on consecutive three-pointers — a massive nine-point swing. The sequence seemed to suck the air out of Chicago’s sails. They remained behind by at least 20 points for the remainder of the quarter, and the Celtics entered the final 12 minutes of regulation with a 96-76 advantage.
There was some question as to whether Porzingis would return to the game to push his season-best outing further, given the Celtics’ big fourth quarter lead. Only two starters — Brown and White — took the court to open the final frame. Ultimately, though, as the Bulls made modest inroads on the Boston lead, he checked back in midway through the quarter. Chicago was able to pull as close as 16 points, but as the clock bled away, it quickly became apparent that a comeback wasn’t in the works.
Next up, the Celtics will travel to New Orleans for a matchup with the struggling Pelicans, this Friday at 8 PM EST on NBC Sports Boston.
