BSJ Game Report: Celtics 123, Bulls 98 - C's rout Bulls behind Tatum's monster triple-double

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

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics were mostly attacking in the first quarter while the Bulls were mainly hitting from 3, leading to a 28-all tie after 12 minutes. Jayson Tatum got going with 13 points in the second while Jaylen Brown kept attacking to finish the first half with 15 points and a seven-point Boston lead. Tatum dominated the third quarter, scoring 18 points to push the lead to 16. The Celtics opened the fourth with an 11-2 run and it was over. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

Holy Jayson Tatum: He’s the second player ever with a stat line of at least 43 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists with nine made 3-pointers. The other was James Harden. Tatum dominated the third quarter to put this game away. This was one of his best offensive performances ever. 

Attacking the rim: The Celtics got 32 shots at the rim, out-pacing their 3-point attempts for a brief while. That changed when Tatum got blistering hot from 3 in the third, but still, they took what the defense gave them instead of force-feeding the 3-point attempts.  

Defensive turnaround: I didn't like the Celtics defense in the first half. The point of attack was weak, leading to a lot of help and rotation, which gave the Bulls too many open looks from 3. The Bulls were 9-25 from 3 in the first half, 5-17 in the second half. The Celtics getting back after their makes and being stronger up top changed the game. 

TURNING POINT 

The Bulls got it within five, 74-69, when Tatum triggered a 19-8 close to the quarter. The 16-point lead only grew from there as the Celtics ran away with it. 

THINGS I LIKED

- Jayson Tatum: He’s the story of the night. What I liked the best is that he didn’t try to dominate the game. Brown had the big first quarter. The second quarter is where Tatum started to take off but he did it more by attacking the rim. You know, kinda like this: 

The 3-pointers didn’t come until later in the third when he was feeling the hot hand. This was the epitome of letting the game come to him.

- Jaylen Brown: A much better night for him, even though he missed all his 3-pointers. He came out aggressive but not overly so on his way to 19 points. He played under control and moved the ball well, racking up eight assists. Most importantly, just two turnovers on the night. This was a much-needed bounce-back game for him after the week he’s had. 

- Kristaps Porzingis: He’s really starting to round out into form, though he’s still not fully comfortable on the floor. 

“(I’m) still getting there … I want to feel even better,” he said. “I know I'm playing a little bit better, but my percentages are not perfect, not feeling my shot perfect, yet. Of course, I'm being a little bit critical, but I know I can play much better.”

Too bad he doesn’t feel great. I guess we’ll have to liv with 22 points, seven rebounds (though he swears Tatum stole a few from him), two blocks, and two steals. I hope he feels like himself soon so he can put up some decent numbers. 

- Limiting Zach LaVine: He destroyed the Celtics in Boston, hitting all kinds of tough shots. The Celtics held him in check in this one, though. He only put up 11 shots, which is great. He was 4-5 from 3, but he averages 7.6 per game and he shot 11 on Thursday. The Celtics did a really good job focusing on him and not letting him get free for a bigger shooting night.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Derrick White: He’s in such a funk he’s about to start touring with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins. The play that bugged me the most was the wildly uncharacteristic hesitation under the rim when he had a wide-open layup after some amazing ball movement. The Celtics got nothing out of the play and you could tell he was frustrated with himself. Something has been bugging him this week and it’s spilling onto the floor. He had eight points on 3-12 shooting (0-6 3pt), one assist, and three turnovers. Yikes. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- The Celtics attacking the rim was not an adjustment of their offense. 

I know the temptation is to say that the Celtics adjusted their 3-point-heavy offense to attack the rim instead. I disagree. I think what this game showed was the 3-pointers they took in the loss to the Bull on Thursday were more forced or hunted than naturally produced. 

Joe Mazzulla is all about rim reads, which means getting to the rim and quickly seeing whether scoring or passing to the corner is a better option. That means the Celtics should be driving as a natural part of their offense

Through three quarters, Boston only took one corner 3-pointer, which tells me Boston was simply making their reads and finishing the plays at the rim. It tells me they generally ran their offense as it is designed and took advantage of Chicago’s defensive weaknesses. 

Did they have a little more of an attacking mindset? Sure, when something is working a team tends to keep going at it until it no longer does. But this still wasn’t Boston getting away from its normal plan. To borrow Mazzulla’s phrasing, this is what being open to winning differently looks like. This is what playing their normal game and reading what the defense does poorly looks like. 

This is an important reminder for the Celtics to focus on their core principles and trust that things will work out for the best. 

Next up: The Celtics go to Orlando to take on the Magic on Monday night.