BSJ Game Report: Celtics 124, Bulls 113 - Hot shooting Horford and Hauser give Boston ninth straight win

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Bulls, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

Jayson Tatum dropped 10 in the first quarter but the Bulls shot very well and capitalized on Boston turnovers to tie the game after one. The 3-pointers started to fall, especially from Sam Hauser, and the Celtics built a six-point halftime lead. The Bulls wouldn’t go away, shooting 60% in the third to cut it to three. Luke Kornet’s effort, Derrick White’s shooting, and Tatum’s talent closed things out in the fourth. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Hot shooting: They hit 21 more 3-pointers in this game. Hauser hit seven and Al Horford hit five to account for more than half of those. Hauser is on fire. He is 23-35 over his last three games. They started out missing their first four 3-pointers of the game, but then they got back to running good offense and getting some drive-and-kick looks to get the offense kick-started, Boston outscored Chicago 63-27 from the 3-point line.

- Kornet on the boards: He finished with 13 rebounds, five of them on the offensive end. He also drew a couple of fouls on tap-outs that helped extend possessions. He has been invaluable lately. 

- Magic number is one: The next Milwaukee loss or Boston win officially gives Boston the top seed in the East.

TURNING POINT

White hit two 3-pointers to extend Boston’s five-point lead to nine and key a 17-9 stretch late in the fourth quarter to put the game away. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Rebounding: Boston grabbed 12 offensive rebounds while only allowing three. Kornet led that charge but Oshae Brissett had three offensive boards and Horford had two. Everyone who played grabbed a rebound except for Jaden Springer, who only played four seconds. 

- Springer’s four seconds: I think this was a smart play. The Bulls were within one possession with four seconds to go in the third, and Springer checked in to pressure full court. Chicago didn’t get a shot off. It’s a small thing, but things could have gone very differently if Chicago was able to push the ball and hit a 3-pointer to tie the game heading into the fourth. 

- Al Horford: He was super-aggressive in the third quarter, scoring 12 points on 4-8 shooting. It’s the most aggressive I’ve seen him in a while on the offensive end, but he was able to keep things together for the Celtics during a stretch where the Bulls could have taken a lead. He finished with 23 points on 50% shooting. 

- Derrick White: Not the best shooting night but he hit them when it mattered in the fourth quarter. Also had six assists. 

- Payton Pritchard: 15 points and eight more assists. He struggled a little with his shooting but the energy was there and he was finding his teammates.  

- Jayson Tatum: He didn't have the best game, but he made the plays down the stretch again to help hold the Bulls off. He attacked and got to the line, which is what you want to see over the last few minutes.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- The defense: It tightened up in the fourth quarter, but this was the first game where I could see the Celtics letting down a bit. They had good defensive stretches and some good individual bursts of good defense, but it wasn't what we're used to. 

- Turnovers: They were especially sloppy in the first half when they turned it over six times for 10 Bulls points. They turned it over six more times in the second half, but only gave up four points off those. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- I can feel a loss coming

Have you ever seen those videos where dog owners pretend to fall asleep while holding a treat? The first eight games of this streak were the part where the dog sits and waits like a good boy to be given the treat. This game against the Bulls was the part where the dog comes over and starts to mouth at the treat but backs away. 

At some point soon, these dogs are going to take that treat and give in to the temptation of taking a night off. 

I’m not going out on a great limb predicting this. Not only are they on the second-longest winning streak in the NBA this season (the longest was 11 games, won by [checks notes] the Boston Celtics), they're about to spend a week in Atlanta for two games against the Hawks. 

Atlanta is a party town, the Hawks are bad but a dangerous, high-scoring team, and the Celtics are on the verge of clinching the East. Considering how they looked in this game, all the tea leaves are telling me there's a capital L in Atlanta somewhere. 

Hey, they gotta lose some time, right? 

Next up: They face the Hawks on Monday night