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Key Moment
Looking to put a seal on Saturday night's matchup in Chicago, Jayson Tatum brought himself face-to-face with one of the NBA's elite perimeter defenders in Kris Dunn.
Calm, cool and collected, the 21-year-old wing delivered.
The Celtics were up 105-101 with just over a minute remaining, when Tatum took it upon himself to close the deal. He met Dunn at the top of the 3-point arc and attempted to dance around the Bulls point guard, but to no avail as Dunn stuck with him while fighting past two screens.
Now standing above the break on the right wing, Tatum dribbled the shot clock all the way down to 1.1 seconds before stepping back and heaving up a 3-pointer. Dunn remained in Tatum's airspace all the way up until the shot left Tatum's fingertips, but it didn't matter as the ball soared through the air and found the bottom of the net.
The cold-blooded dagger sucked the life out of the Bulls and killed their late comeback attempt, as Boston would walk away with a 111-104 victory.
Key Player
Not only did Jayson Tatum deliver the game-sealing blow Saturday night, but he also produced the most efficient high-volume shooting performance of his NBA career.
Tatum dropped 28 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field, marking the first time in his career in which he shot at least 80 percent while attempting at least 10 shots. The only other occasion in which he made at least 80 percent of his shot attempts was a 5-of-6 effort against Milwaukee during his rookie campaign.
Tatum finished 10-of-11 from inside the arc, 2-of-4 from outside the arc, and also made both of his free-throw attempts. On top of his scoring production, Tatum added seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks during a team-high 36 minutes of action.
Box Score Nuggets
- Bulls guard Zach LaVine led all scorers with 35 points.
- Jayson Tatum led Boston in the scoring column with 28 points.
- Gordon Hayward added 24 points of his own and had was a game-best plus-15.
- The Celtics shot 52.4 percent from the field, while Chicago shot just 42.5 percent.
- Boston had a 44-37 advantage on the boards.
- Enes Kanter logged a double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds) for the third straight game.
- Kanter grabbed six rebounds on both ends of the court.
- The Bulls logged 15 steals, with all eight of its participants snagging at least one.
- Boston dominated inside the paint, where it outscored Chicago 60-38.
Quote of the Night
Gordon Hayward on grinding it out in Chicago.