National Basketball Association
Chicago 117, Boston 108
When: 7:30 PM ET, Thursday, December 19, 2024
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Officials: #25 Tony Brothers, #64 Justin Van Duyne, #96 Intae Hwang
Attendance: 19156

Zach LaVine tossed in a game-high 36 points and Nikola Vucevic added 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the visiting Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Chicago outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter, when three technical fouls were called on the Celtics, who wanted a foul called on the Bulls during a loose-ball scramble.

The Bulls received 17 points and eight rebounds from Ayo Dosunmu and extended their winning streak to three games.

Jayson Tatum had 31 points and 10 rebounds for Boston. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 20 points and eight boards, and Derrick White had 16 points and eight rebounds. Boston was 14 of 56 (25 percent) from the 3-point arc.

Chicago's Josh Giddey did not play because of an ankle injury. Giddey is averaging 11.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 27 games this season.

Although they missed 18 of their 24 3-point attempts in the first half, the Celtics led 25-21 after one quarter and 57-54 at halftime. LaVine scored 20 of his points in the half.

It was 80-80 following a Dosunmu 3-pointer with 1:03 remaining in the third, but the Celtics responded with 3-pointers by Payton Pritchard and Tatum to take an 86-80 lead. Boston led 86-82 entering the fourth.

Chicago went in front on Talen Horton-Tucker's layup that made it 92-90 with 9:24 to play. It was part of a 12-0 run that gave the Bulls a 99-90 advantage with 7:41 left.

The Bulls had a 99-96 lead when Boston coach Joe Mazzulla and Brown each received a technical foul. LaVine made two free throws and then connected on a 3-pointer that put the Bulls in front 104-96 with 5:02 to go.

Another LaVine free throw following a technical foul on Tatum gave Chicago its first double-digit lead, 108-98, with 3:10 left, and Boston failed to get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   Boston
Zach LaVine 36 Scoring Jayson Tatum 31
Ayo Dosunmu 4 Assists Jaylen Brown 4
Nikola Vucevic 14 Rebounds Jayson Tatum 10
Zach LaVine 8 Free Throws Made Jayson Tatum 7
Ayo Dosunmu 2 Steals Jayson Tatum 2
Lonzo Ball 1 Blocks Kristaps Porzingis 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Chicago 117 44.7 19-52 14-16 23 56 2 2 12
Boston 108 39.2 14-56 18-21 21 45 8 6 4
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Celtics have a W/L % of .714 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game at home against Boston. The Bulls have a W/L % of .308 after a win and .600 after a loss.