NBA

Boston Celtics at Chicago Bulls

· NBA Cup - Group Play
16-3, 9-1 Away
Final
138 - 129

8-13, 2-7 Home

Tatum scores 35, Pritchard adds 29 off the bench and Celtics outlast Bulls 138-129

Jaylen Brown absolutely posterizes Jalen Smith

Reserve Payton Pritchard added a season-best 29 points, including 11 straight during a fourth-quarter run that gave the Celtics the lead for good.

Nikola Vucevic scored a season-high 32 points and had 11 rebounds for Chicago, which could have secured a spot in the Cup quarterfinals with a victory. Atlanta, which defeated Cleveland earlier in the day, secured the Group C berth and will advance to the knockout round.

Boston still as a shot at the wild-card berth but it depends on the outcome of Tuesday’s games.

Zach LaVine added 29 points for the Bulls, including four 3-pointers to become the franchise's career leader in made 3s.

Tied at 108, Pritchard made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to start an 11-4 run that gave Boston breathing room. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis each added 21 points.

Takeaways Celtics: Boston had its complete roster available for the first time this season but only three reserves played significant minutes. It didn’t hurt that Pritchard, who played 28 minutes and most of the fourth quarter, was part of that trio.

Bulls: LaVine’s third 3-pointer with 3:05 to play pulled the Bulls within 125-122 and made him the franchise’s career leader. He finished with four 3s and now has 1,051, two more than Kirk Hinrich.

Key moment Pritchard hit a deep 3-pointer with 5:25 to play to cap his 11-point spurt and put Boston ahead 119-112. He finished the night 7 for 11 from behind the arc and scored all but five of the Celtics’ 34 bench points.

Key stat The Celtics were 15 for 23 from the floor in the fourth quarter.

Up next Boston travels to Cleveland on Sunday. Chicago welcomes Brooklyn on Monday night.

Regular Season Series

BOS leads series 1-0

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 138 - 129
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 138 - 129
4th 0.0 (00:00) [Celtics] REF-INITIATED REVIEW (REPLAY SUPPORTS CALL) 138 - 129
4th 0.0 Sam Hauser makes 25-foot three point shot (Jayson Tatum assists) 138 - 129
4th 1.1 Sam Hauser enters the game for Al Horford 135 - 129

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/bos.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBOS https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/chi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHI
49-98 FG 48-93
50 Field Goal % 52
23-54 3PT 20-51
43 Three Point % 39
17-23 FT 13-16
74 Free Throw % 81
51 Rebounds 43
11 Offensive Rebounds 5
40 Defensive Rebounds 38
24 Assists 28
6 Steals 7
2 Blocks 2
9 Turnovers 8
0 Team Turnovers 0
9 Total Turnovers 8
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
17 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 4
16 Fast Break Points 17
50 Points in Paint 52
13 Fouls 17
13 Largest Lead 9
Chicago Bulls Chicago Bulls Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Noa Essengue, F Out Dec 3
Boston Celtics Boston Celtics Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jordan Walsh, G Out Dec 22
Jayson Tatum, F Out Oct 9

Game Information

United Center

Location: Chicago, IL
Attendance: 19,798 · Capacity:

2025-26 Atlantic Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 20 8 .714 - W1
Boston 17 11 .607 3 W2
Philadelphia 16 11 .593 3.5 W2
Toronto 17 13 .567 4 L2
Brooklyn 8 19 .296 11.5 W1

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Detroit 22 6 .786 - W1
Cleveland 15 14 .517 7.5 L3
Chicago 13 15 .464 9 W3
Milwaukee 11 18 .379 11.5 L3
Indiana 6 22 .214 16 L4
Full Standings

NBA News

Rick Carlisle stepping down as coaches association president

Rick Carlisle stepping down as coaches association president

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle will step down as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, and Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff will replace him.

Lakers' Luka Doncic (calf contusion) out vs. Suns on Tuesday

Lakers' Luka Doncic (calf contusion) out vs. Suns on Tuesday

Lakers star Luka Doncic is out for Tuesday's game in Phoenix due to a left calf contusion.

NBA stars excited to play on Christmas

NBA stars excited to play on Christmas

Darius Garland, Jalen Williams and Klay Thompson reveal their excitement for playing on Christmas.

Fantasy basketball pickups: Maxime Raynaud, Jock Landale among deep pool of centers to add

Fantasy basketball pickups: Maxime Raynaud, Jock Landale among deep pool of centers to add

Every week in fantasy basketball, there are available players who can help fill holes in your roster. Here are the ones to add for the week ahead.

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Monday's NBA games

Fantasy basketball picks, DFS and betting tips for Monday's NBA games

Eric Moody breaks down Monday's NBA games and offers his top fantasy streamers as well as his favorite bets and DFS plays.