The Celtics lost a starter to an injury but outlasted the Bulls 138-129 to remain alive in the NBA Cup.
The Celtics outlasted the Chicago Bulls in a barnburner Friday night.
Did they do enough to punch their ticket to the NBA Cup quarterfinals? That won’t be decided for another few days.
Boston’s 138-129 victory at the United Center kept Joe Mazzulla’s club alive in the NBA’s in-season tournament. The Celtics cannot win their group – Atlanta did so with its win over Cleveland earlier in the day – but can claim the Eastern Conference’s wild-card berth if they finish with the best point differential of the three second-place teams.
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 35 points and 14 rebounds in the win, but the star of the night was reserve guard Payton Pritchard, who erupted in the fourth quarter to help Boston pull away.
Kristaps Porzingis also put up strong numbers in his second game back from offseason leg surgery (21 points on 7-of-11 shooting, eight rebounds). Jaylen Brown scored 21 points – including a Dunk of the Year candidate with eight minutes remaining – and Jrue Holiday came alive late to finish with 11 points and eight rebounds.
The Celtics had their full roster available for the first time this season but played the final 20 minutes without starting guard Derrick White, who exited with what the team called a sore right foot. White, an All-Star candidate through 19 games, was productive before the injury, going 6-of-10 from the floor and 4-of-8 from three to finish with 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal and no turnovers in 24 minutes.
His absence opened the floor for Pritchard, and the Sixth Man of the Year favorite delivered, scoring 19 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter.
Pritchard did not leave the floor after White’s early exit and went 9-for-12 from the floor from that point forward. He also registered a steal, an assist and seven rebounds, including four on the offensive end.
“He’s a complete player,” Mazzulla told reporters after the game.
