Final: Celtics 133, Bulls 77 -- Biggest win in Celtics history

The Celtics opened up a 17-0 lead in the first six minutes of the game and did not look back on Saturday night, steamrolling the Bulls over 48 minutes with a 133-77 victory for their fifth straight win. It was the biggest margin of victory in Celtics history and tied the NBA record for the biggest road win in NBA history.

Daniel Theis had a career-high 22 points filling in for Al Horford (sore knee) in the starting lineup while Jaylen Brown had a team-high 23 points off the bench. Seven different players scored in double figures for Boston as the team shot 53 percent from the field and 51 percent from 3-point range.

Boston goes for six straight wins against the Pelicans at the Garden on Monday night.

First Half Notes

• C's open the game with Daniel Theis at center in place of a resting Al Horford (sore knee) and they don't miss the big man at all.


• Marcus Smart sets the tone defensively with a strong contest on the first possession and the momentum continues as C's roll out to a 17-0 run in the first six minutes, thanks to tough shots from the Bulls in the halfcourt.


• Jayson Tatum (10 points) and Marcus Morris (12 points) set the tone in the early going by attacking the Bulls on the perimeter with their shot making, as C's opened game shooting 66 percent from field and 3 point range over their first 12 attempts from game.


• Guerschon Yabusele got a rare opportunity at some major minutes with Baynes, Horford and Robert Williams all out for the contest and he played some of the best basketball of his career in ten first first half minutes. Some very good screens, solid awareness defensively and a terrific rolling layup to the rim and energy on the offensive glass. He earned 10 straight minutes in the stint and was not a liability at all.


• Terry Rozier continues to regain some momentum off the bench with his new backcourt mate in Gordon Hayward running the show. He had 10 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting.


• Ugly shooting half for Gordon Hayward (1-of-6) who missed a lot of wide-open looks but still set up his teammates well.


• Bulls fought back from 21-point deficit to trim lead down to 13 at one point late in the second quarter but C's starters closed half with a 8-0 run to push gap back to 21.

• Aron Baynes went through a workout after suffering a sprained left ankle during Thursday's win over the Knicks but the team has ruled him out for the affair. It will be the third game that Baynes has missed this season.


• Al Horford was a late addition to the injury report with soreness in his left knee and was ruled out after warmups. That's the same injury that cropped up earlier this season for the big man but it hdsn't kept him out of a game just yet. With Rob Williams (new father) also away from the team, the C's will be very thin on the frontline tonight. Look for big minutes for reserve center Daniel Theis along with plenty of small ball lineups.


• The Bulls will be playing their third game of the season under new head coach Jim Boylen. They are 1-1 thus far since Fred Hoiberg has been fired and picked up their first win of the season under the new head coach on Friday night against the Thunder.


• Markannen has looked sharp in his return to the floor this week after a 20-plus game absence to start the season for the Bulls. He's averaging 18 points per game since he's come back and has shot 40 percent from beyond the arc.