Celtics continue winning streak, defeating Bulls 129-112
By Mackenzie Bruno
The Boston Celtics won their seventh straight game against the Chicago Bulls on Thursday, 129-112. This win marks the Celtics’ highest winning streak this season.
Derrick White scored a team high 28 points, while Jayson Tatum tallied 25 points of his own. The Celtics’ high scoring offense was propelled by three-point shooting. White and Tatum each made five 3-pointers of Boston’s 23 total threes made in the game.
To add on to the Celtics scoring, Jaylen Brown poured in 21 points. Boston comes off a strong first half of the season after the All-Star break containing to rank number one in the NBA with a record of 44 wins and 12 losses. Their most recent win before the All-Star break was a dominating 50-point win over the Brooklyn Nets, 136-86.
The win against the Bulls was certainly not smooth the entire time for the Celtics. Boston led by 16 and then fell behind to Chicago by three at halftime. The third quarter proved to be critical for the Celtics as they went on to score the Bulls 37-21.
Big man Nikola Vucevic led the way for Chicago with a double-double of 22 points and 14 rebounds. Explosive guard for the Bulls Coby White pitched in 20 points, with former All-Star Demar DeRozan racking up 19 points in another disappointing loss for the Bulls.
Chicago is without two-time All-Star and Slam Dunk champion Zach Lavine for the remainder of the season after he suffered a foot injury sidelining him for the remainder of the season. The Bulls currently sit ninth overall in the Eastern Conference with a 26-30 record.
While the Celtics were down going into the second half, they were able to score 10 straight points to erase the deficit. Jrue Holiday and Derrick White hit threes, with Kristaps Porzingis extending the lead on both ends of the floor. On the defensive end, Porzingis had three tough blocks while defending in the paint and scored 14 points to secure the win for Boston.
Celtics’ three-point specialist Sam Hauser came into the game and knocked down a three for Boston right after Jayston Tatum to cruise to an 86-72 lead that would remain for the rest of the game.
The Boston Celtics take on the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden for their next matchup on Saturday night.