The Celtics defeat the Bulls 124-97 and move on to the In-Season Tournament thanks to 30 points from Jaylen Brown.
Boston (AP) — Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 124-97 to go to the NBA In-Season Tournament quarterfinals. Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, Jayson Tatum scored 21, and the game ended in a rout.
The Celtics emerged victorious in Group C and secured the third seed in the Eastern Conference after defeating Orlando and Brooklyn in a three-team tiebreaker decided by point differential. Next week, they will travel to see the No. 2 Indiana Pacers.
Though Brown acknowledged that the emphasis on point differential was more than a little unusual, he said, “To be honest, it was a little weird but the ultimate goal was to come out and get a win tonight and that’s what we did.” It’s difficult because that isn’t the intended way to play the game. First and foremost, respect your rivals.
The Celtics made a season-high twenty-one 3-pointers, with four coming from Jrue Holiday and Al Horford. Boston’s five starting players each scored ten or more points.
Horford had nine rebounds and 16 points in the end. Holiday finished with 14 points, 9 assists, and 7 rebounds in his comeback game after missing the previous two due to a sprained right ankle.
The 14-point scorer Derrick White said, “Anytime you add Jrue back into the lineup, it’s going to help your defense.” “He takes so many actions that have an effect on winning. It’s good to have him returned.
The Bulls’ losing streak was extended to five games by the Celtics. Their field goal percentage was 52% (47 of 90), and they outrebounded the Bulls 51-38.
Despite having the best record in the NBA going into the day, Boston needed to win and have a big scoring night in order to have a chance of making it to the tournament quarterfinals.
Despite having a sizable lead, Boston’s coach Joe Mazzulla expressed his satisfaction with his team’s persistence in pressing throughout the second half.
“Call it what you will, but ultimately, human nature sometimes sets in and makes you bored. You begin to slip back into your routines or you start to take your shots or your execution for granted. We didn’t do that tonight, Mazzulla stated. “We just kept playing for that stretch of time tonight. We had a victory there.
Mazzulla claimed that during a conversation between the coaches during a play-stoppage, he confided in Billy Donovan that he was likewise uneasy about running up the score.
The Celtics’ repeated fouling of Andre Drummond in the fourth quarter, which forced him to the foul line where he converted just one of six free throws, infuriated Donovan the most.
However, I also recognize the predicament he finds himself in. Donovan stated, “I think it was putting Andre in a tough spot down 30 points, but he has to coach his team and do what’s right.” However, this is league-related. The league has created this point-differential item in this way.
With 19 points apiece, DeMar DeRozan and Coby White led Chicago. The Bulls, led by Patrick Williams, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, were unable to halt the Celtics’ outside shooting.
Boston shot 21 of 49 from beyond the arc in the end. It exceeded its previous best of twenty 3-pointers against Indiana on November 1.
The Bulls, who have dropped eight out of nine games, added 10 points from Ayo Dosunmu. With a sore right foot, Zach LaVine departed and did not come back. In less than twenty-five minutes, he scored two points.
Boston led 69–50 at the half after scoring 38 points in the second quarter. In the third, it kept rolling. Tatum helped the Celtics extend their lead to 78-55 with a layup and a 3-pointer.
Boston kept pressing, keeping in mind the point differential. With 8:52 remaining in the game, Tatum missed a long jumper, but Sam Hauser was there to swoop in the rebound and give the team a 104-75 lead.
