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Boston Celtics beat Chicago Bulls 125-111 as Payton Pritchard scores 30 off the bench and Jayson Tatum adds 26
Payton Pritchard had 20 of his 30 points in the first half as Boston scored 44 in the first quarter, led by 32 and beat Chicago for the second time in five days in both teams' NBA Cup group opener.
In this article
Payton Pritchard scored 30 points off the bench, 20 of them in the first half, and the Boston Celtics led by as many as 32 on the way to a 125-111 win over the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden on Friday, October 30, in both teams’ opener in Emirates NBA Cup group play. Boston is 4-1 and has beaten Chicago twice in five days, after a 134-99 win on Monday. The Bulls are 1-5.
Pritchard made 9 of 17 shots and all nine of his free throws. Jayson Tatum had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, and Paul George added 18 points, 8 assists and 3 steals.
Video: NBA / X.
How it turned
Chicago led 9-6 in the opening minutes before Boston scored 10 straight points, and the Celtics kept going. They scored 44 points in the first quarter, shooting their way to a 44-25 lead as Tatum, George and Neemias Queta all scored inside, and Pritchard had 10 points in the quarter off the bench.
Pritchard scored 10 more in the second quarter, and Tatum’s three with 1:52 left in the half made it 76-44. Boston led 78-49 at halftime and 99-74 after three quarters.
The Bulls won the fourth quarter 37-26, with Noa Essengue scoring 9 of his 10 points in the period, but they never got closer than 14. Chicago’s Jalen Smith and Tatum were each called for a technical foul in the fourth.
Video: Boston Celtics / X.
The numbers
Boston shot 42 of 82 from the field and scored 58 points in the paint, and went 31 of 40 from the free-throw line. Queta had 13 points and 6 rebounds, making 7 of 10 free throws, and Mitchell Robinson scored 11 on 4-of-4 shooting. The Celtics had 28 assists and 10 steals.
Chicago took 50 threes and made 15. The Bulls had 20 offensive rebounds and outrebounded Boston 51-41, but went 26 of 40 at the line.
Chicago’s side
Rookie Caleb Wilson led the Bulls with 23 points, making 6 of 11 threes. Norman Powell scored 16 and made 7 of 8 free throws, Matas Buzelis had 14, Josh Giddey had 13 points and 5 assists, and Tre Jones scored 12. Smith grabbed 12 rebounds but scored 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting.
What’s next
The Celtics visit the Orlando Magic on Sunday, November 1, at 3:30 p.m. ET (10:30 p.m. Cairo time). The Bulls visit the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday, November 2, at 7:30 p.m. ET (2:30 a.m. Tuesday Cairo time).
Full box score and play-by-play: Game Center. All-time head-to-head.
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