Pritchard beats Chicago with great success in the 4th quarter, the Celtics win 138-129 against the Bulls

After disbanding the Los Angeles Clippers and three days off, the Boston Celtics travel to the Windy City to face the Chicago Bulls in their final game of NBA Cup qualifying. For the first time this season, the Celtics have a clean bill of health on the injury report, which is a great sign heading into this important NBA Cup game.

Since the Hawks beat the Cavs earlier in the day, the Celtics must win this game to have a chance at the wild card spot in the NBA Cup Playoffs. There are a ton of different scenarios that need to play out in the Eastern Conference on Tuesday to help Boston, but none of it will matter if they don’t take care of business against the Bulls.

On the Bulls’ very red field, the Celtics started the scoring with Kristaps Porzingis on the wing. Both teams started this game at a fast pace, but Boston’s three-pointer was the big equalizer as they made five three-pointers in the first five minutes, three of them from Jaylen Brown. The three-point barrage continued to be the Celtics’ weapon of choice as they shot 9-for-16 from distance in the first quarter.

With the Celtics at full strength, Mazzulla decided to start the game with Horford, Hauser and Pritchard as the only players not on the bench. The Bulls took advantage of some of the Celtics’ turnovers, but Boston still had a 39-30 lead after one quarter of play. Jayson Tatum had another dominant first quarter as he filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal on 5-9 shooting from the field and 2-4 from three.

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Torrey Craig hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the second quarter as Chicago went on a 10-3 run to start the second quarter and the Celtics led by two. A Celtics timeout didn’t seem to stop the Bulls’ run. With Porzingis on the bench, the Bulls began attacking the paint, and the Celtics’ rim protection was no longer there as Al Horford was the only center on the court.

The Celtics’ offense stagnated as they missed ten shots in a row at one point and the Bulls took advantage. Talen Horton-Tucker scored seven straight points for the Bulls midway through the quarter and didn’t give up on the Celtics in any way. In Chicago, eleven players took the field in the first half and all eleven scored at least once.

To counter the Bulls’ attack, the Celtics brought the starters back into the game and that calmed the waters. The Celtics’ post-up play with Tatum and Porzingis and penetration into the zone gave Chicago’s defense fits. Boston regained the lead with a 14-0 run, but Nikola Vucevic hit four three-pointers in a row to match every Celtics basket. Tatum hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as they entered halftime tied 67-67.

Jayson Tatum (19), Derrick White (16), Kristaps Porzingis (14) and Jaylen Brown (13) combined for 62 of the Celtics’ 67 points in the first half. However, the Celtics’ three-point shooting took a nosedive in the second quarter as they took an 11-3 lead from distance.

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Nikola Vucevic continued to put on an absolute clinical performance. He made two floaters, a three-pointer and got to the free throw line, where he scored 20 of the Bulls’ 23 points to end the first half and start the second half. The Bulls built an 8-point lead over the Celtics while Boston’s offense continued to struggle.

After the Celtics called a timeout after 8 minutes, Jayson Tatum began to put his stamp on the game. Tatum grabbed a rebound that ended in a quick break Pritchard three, blocked Ayo Dosumu on the next possession and came back to hit a floater over Dosumu that ended with an and-1. Tatum scored 8 straight points and kept Boston in the game as Chicago’s defense couldn’t stop him from getting everything he wanted.

Both teams continued to show an offensive attack as almost every play ended in a basket in the final five minutes of the third quarter and the quarter ended in a 96-96 tie. Jayson Tatum continued his hot quarter, scoring 13 points in the third quarter alone and reaching 32 points before the start of the fourth quarter. The Celtics were without Derrick White in the fourth quarter as he was listed as doubtful to return with a sore right foot.

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Neemias Queta started the fourth quarter for the Celtics and made a splash with an offensive rebound that led to a Browns layup. Jalen Phillips checked in for Chicago and hit a three-pointer, the 12th Bulls to score tonight. Payton Pritchard scored 8 straight points for the Celtics and Talen Horton-Tucker tied 6 straight shots. The real highlight early in the quarter was when Jaylen Brown threw a thunderous poster dunk to Jalen Smith to force a Bulls timeout.

Payton Pritchard was on fire in the first seven minutes of the quarter for Boston, scoring 19 points with five three-pointers and destroying the Bulls’ defense in White’s absence. Despite Pritchard’s score, Chicago had responded with a 7-1 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Zach Lavine that cut the Celtics’ lead to three with three minutes left.

After a Celtics timeout, Tatum fought his way to the rim for a slam and Jrue Holiday hit a three-pointer to extend the Celtics’ lead back to eight with two minutes left. Lavine hit a three-pointer to bring the game to 5 points, but Jrue Holiday converted a Jaylen Brown airball into a put-back layup with 20 seconds left to put the game on ice. Sam Hauser capped the game with a three-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Celtics a 138-129 victory and keeping their hopes of reaching the NBA Cup playoffs alive.

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Jayson Tatum was the Celtics’ leading scorer in this game as he dominated the Bulls with 35 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists on 12-18 shooting from the field and 4-8 from three. Payton Pritchard’s great fourth quarter allowed him to finish the season with 29 points, shooting 10-16 from the field and an absurd 7-11 from beyond the arc. This win also gives the Celtics a half-game lead in first place in the Eastern Conference after the Cavs lost two straight games.

The battle for the No. 1 seed will be put to the test in the Celtics’ next game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday, December 1st at 6 p.m.