Bulls shoot 70% and score 39 in 2nd half, but lose to Celtics
CHICAGO (AP) — Derrick White scored 28 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics won their season-high seventh straight game, beating the Chicago Bulls 129-112 on Thursday night.
White and Tatum each made five of Boston's 23 3-pointers. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, and the Celtics came away with another convincing victory after pounding Brooklyn by 50 prior to the All-Star break.
Boston went from leading by 16 to trailing by three at halftime before regaining control in the third. The Celtics outscored the Bulls 37-21 in the quarter.
Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Coby White scored 20 points, and DeMar DeRozan added 19 on another rough night for the Bulls against the Celtics.
A blowout loss at Boston in late November left Chicago staggering with a 5-14 record. The Bulls steadied themselves somewhat, winning 21 of the next 36 despite losing Zach LaVine (foot) for the remainder of the season.
The Celtics wasted little time regaining control in the second half, scoring 10 straight to start the third. Jrue Holiday and White each hitting 3s, and Kristaps Porzingis capping it with a 15-footer to boost Boston's lead to 69-62.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Tatum and Sam Hauser made it 86-72 with just under four minutes left in the third, and the Celtics remained in control the rest of the way.
Vucevic scored 20 points and Dosunmu added 12 to help Chicago grab a 62-59 halftime lead after trailing by 16 in the first quarter.
The Bulls, who shot 70% and scored 39 points in the second, took their first lead since the opening minutes on two free throws by Vucevic to make it 57-56 with 1:58 left in the half. Dosunmu put them back on top when he made a 3 from the wing after a save by Alex Caruso in the closing seconds, and Chicago headed to the locker room up by three after Brown missed a 3 for Boston.
UP NEXT
Celtics: At New York on Saturday night.
Bulls: At New Orleans on Sunday night.
