FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER:
Boston 111, Bulls 104 (Bulls: 13-23, 7-13 at home)
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 35 points. Boston: Tatum: 28 pts.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Carter: 14. Boston: Kanter: 12.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 7. Boston: Smart and Wanamaker each with 5.
STAT OF THE NIGHT: The Celtics scored 27 points off 16 Bulls turnovers. The Bulls scored 24 points off 20 Boston turnovers.
RECAP: For the second straight game the Bulls played with effort but couldn't get over the hump as the Celtics delivered at crunch time and escaped with a hard-fought victory. The Bulls trailed by 16 with 9:45 left in the fourth quarter, then went on a run to narrow the deficit to three. Jayson Tatum's desperation three from the right-wing over Kris Dunn as the shot clock expired with 66 seconds left proved to be huge as the Celtics extended their lead to seven and never looked back.
Enes Kanter with a strong low post game hurt the Bulls as he registered a 17-12 game off the bench. Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 52 points.
Zach LaVine was tremendous scoring 35 points but missed a career-high six free throws on the night. Wendell Carter Jr. recorded his third straight double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
The Bulls were outscored 30-21 in the third.
UP NEXT: At Dallas Monday
24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES:
Milwaukee 127, San Antonio 118: Giannis Antetokounmpo took over in the third quarter scoring 19 of his game-high 32 points. He went 15 of 18 from the foul line, a season-high. The Bucks have won five straight and 32-5 overall.
Washington 128, Denver 114: Ish Smith scored a career-high 32 for the Wizards. Denver's Jamal Murray scored 39 of his points after the first quarter.
OKC 121, Cleveland 106: The Thunder have won five straight. According to published reports Kevin Love yelled at Cavs GM Koby Altman over a recent fine and did so after the team's shootaround in front of coaches, teammates and front office staff. Love‘s questionable body language in Saturday's game against the Thunder. Stay tuned.
Atlanta 116, Indiana 111: Vince Carter became the first player in NBA history to play in four decades. Trae Young scored 41 points.
Utah 109, Orlando 96: The Jazz have won five straight.
Toronto 121, Brooklyn 102: Kyrie Irving remains sidelined with a shoulder injury and will be re-evaluated in another one-two months.
Memphis 140, Los Angeles Clippers 114: This is NOT a CCI typo...that's right sports fans, the Grizz scored 140 on the Clippers D. The Grizzlies led by 18 in the first quarter.
Charlotte 123, Dallas 120 OT: Luka Doncic set a Mavs record with his NBA leading 10th triple-double, scoring 39 points-12 rebounds and assists. The game marked the 20th anniversary of owner Mark Cuban purchasing the team.
Detroit 111, Golden State 104: Andre Drummond powered his way through another double-double fo 14 points and 18 rebounds. Derrick Rose had 22 off the bench.
New Orleans 117, Sacramento 115: J.J. Redick's layup with 1.1 seconds left propelled the Pels to their fifth win in their last six games.
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