Key Moment
Boston sliced a 21-point deficit all the way down to eight during the fourth quarter of Monday’s matchup in Chicago not once, but twice. Unfortunately, it just didn’t have enough firepower to erase the deficit altogether.
Each time the C’s pulled to within eight, Chicago responded. First, it was with a critical stepback jumper from Patrick Williams at the 10:10 mark of the fourth, which stopped Chicago’s bleeding. Then, it was via a Zach LaVine 3-pointer at the 6:04 mark of the fourth, which plugged another one of Chicago’s leaks.
Boston couldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.
Williams’ jumper was impressive not only due to its clutch nature, but also because of its level of difficulty. Williams shook himself free from Jayson Tatum with a behind-the-back dribble, from left to right, which transitioned right into a pullup jumper from the left elbow. The third-year forward swished the basket home over the outstretched hand of Sam Hauser, who helped Tatum out with a contest.
Beginning with Williams’ basket, the Bulls scored nine of the game’s next 11 points to push their lead back up to 15. Boston, however, would make one more run. The C’s answered with another 7-0 run to make it an eight-point game yet again, at 104-96, before Chicago landed its knockout punch.
LaVine caught a pass from Alex Caruso and immediately let one fly from 27 feet out on the right wing. The shot wasn’t exactly a great one when it left his hands, but it was when it fell through the net. DeMar DeRozan then scored on a driving layup on Chicago’s next possession to make it a 109-96 lead with 5:19 to go and the Bulls controlled the game from thereon out.
Key Player
Jayson Tatum gave the Celtics a chance on a night when they simply didn’t have their A-game.
Tatum tied for the game’s top scoring mark with 28 points and threatened to record a triple-double by also leading outright or tying for the team lead in rebounds (11) and assists (seven) during the contest.
He did the majority of his scoring at the rim and from beyond the arc on the left side of the court. Tatum shot 4-for-7 from inside of 10 feet and then drained four of his five 3-pointers from the left side of the court. Overall, he shot 9-for-19 from the field, 4-for-10 from distance, and 6-for-7 from the free-throw line.
No other player on Boston’s roster came close to his 11 boards. The next-highest total was seven, notched by Grant Williams and Jaylen Brown.
Box Score Nuggets
- Chicago shot 51.7 percent from the field and 48.3 percent from long distance.
- Jayson Tatum and DeMar DeRozan tied for the game high in scoring with 28 points apiece.
- Boston scored only 34 of its 107 points in the paint.
- Jaylen Brown totaled 25 points and seven rebounds.
- Tatum led the Celtics outright with 11 rebounds, and tied for the team high in assists with seven.
- Boston committed 15 turnovers, including 14 by the starters.
- Nikola Vucevic notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebound.
- Zach LaVine scored 22 points and tied for the game high with five 3-pointers.
- Malcolm Brogdon came off of of Boston's bench to score 23 points, including a 5-for-6 effort from long range.
Quote of the Night
"I do know, regardless of if Smart's in or not, Jayson's done a great job of trying to make the right play, whether he's handling or screening or off-ball, so I think it's more about that."
- Joe Mazzulla on Jayson Tatum's uptick in assists before Marcus Smart returned to the lineup Monday night