The Boston Celtics hit the road and headed to the Windy City with one thing on their mind before Saturday night’s matchup against the Chicago Bulls: vengeance.
Boston crumbled to Chicago during Thursday night’s meeting at TD Garden, turning back-to-back technical fouls to head coach Joe Mazzulla and star Jaylen Brown into a game-losing 18-12 run from the Bulls in the fourth quarter. Mazzulla and Brown vocalized their frustrations with the officiating, resulting in a $35,000 fine to Mazzulla and giving the team plenty of motivating fuel.
That fuel translated and ignited a roaring response from Jayson Tatum and the Celtics, who improved to 22-6 with the much-needed bounce-back performance.
Here are three studs and three duds from Boston’s 123-98 revenge win over Chicago:
STUDS
Jayson Tatum
Tatum addressed Magic Johnson’s recent comments on the 2017 draft and why the Lakers passed on the five-time All-Star hours before tip-off. And throughout the night, Tatum reminded Los Angeles of its loss by recording his first triple-double of the season as he scored a season-high 43 points with 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Tatum shot 16-for-24 from the field and drained nine 3-pointers, putting on a clinic.
Boston’s star turned a feasible five-point lead the Celtics dangled over the Bulls into a double-digit blowout to send everyone at United Center packing early.
Boston’s interior presence
The Celtics were humbled Thursday night after relying too heavily on the 3-point line and outworked the Bulls throughout their redemption shot. Boston totaled 10 offensive rebounds by halftime before finishing the game with 16 to Chicago’s 10. Luke Kornet led the charge on that front, logging a team-leading six offensive rebounds — and eight total — in 19 minutes off the bench to give the Celtics an extra four scoring opportunities.
Kristaps Porzingis
Boston’s 7-footer was solid from start to finish as Porzingis scored 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the floor with six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Porzingis was the overshadowed cheat code, slashing through Chicago’s offense on the offensive end while giving the Bulls trouble scoring on the other end and alleviating any concerns about the 29-year-old’s recent heel injury.
DUDS
Derrick White
It was a rough shooting night for White as the 30-year-old went 3-for-12 from the field and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. White failed to get going throughout 26 minutes on the floor, scoring a modest eight points to go along with four rebounds and one assist.
Zach LaVine
The Celtics were dragged through the mud when it came to defending LaVine on their home floor, but the two-time All-Star couldn’t follow it up in Chicago. LaVine was held to just 14 points on 4-of-11 shooting with four rebounds and four assists, finishing a minus-12 following the loss.
Coby White
Chicago’s guard, too, had a rough go in the scoring department as White also scored just 14 points. The North Carolina product shot 5-of-14 from the floor, missed six 3-point attempts, grabbed zero rebounds and led the Bulls with three turnovers committed.
