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However, the Celtics star is largely out of the end-of-year award conversation.
Jayson Tatum is having arguably the best season of his career. After winning an NBA championship and Olympic gold earlier this year, his numbers are largely up across the board and he’s become more of a complete playmaker and defender in 2024. The Celtics are second in the Eastern Conference and on pace to win even more games than last year.
But even with that developing resume, Tatum is trailing a few spots behind in the MVP race.
In ESPN’s MVP straw poll at the quarter mark, the Celtics superstar is squarely in fourth place behind the Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Mavericks’ Luka Doncic completes the top-5. And for what it’s worth, JT and Doncic flipflopped spots in yesterday’s NBA.com’s MVP ladder.
With the caveat that the 65-game requirement to be eligible for season-ending awards could always wreak havoc with these rankings later in the season if injuries occur, it appears it will be difficult for those further down the list to catch up. Take Tatum and Donovan Mitchell for example.
Mitchell’s MVP case centers around being the best player on the best team. But despite Cleveland’s NBA-best 23-4 start, the guard sits in sixth. Tatum, meanwhile, has now landed somewhere between fourth and sixth in each of the past six straw polls, dating to the midway point of the 2022-23 season.
Jokic finished with 57 first-place votes with Gilgeous-Alexander trailing behind at 24 and Antetokounmpo with 19. Tatum received zero 1sts, three 2nds, thirteen thirds, and 51 fourth place votes.
Barring injuries to what has been a perennial top-3 of late, Tatum will most likely finish as the league’s best team player. He doesn’t take advantage of more heliocentric systems that Antetokounmpo and SGA enjoy, but is a much better defender than Jokic and Doncic.
After beating the Wizards and filling the box score with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists back in October, Tatum said, “As a kid, you set a lot of goals for yourself. I’ve been very fortunate to check off a lot of boxes of things that I wanted to accomplish, things that my favorite players accomplished.
Saying that winning MVP is important to me doesn’t take away success of our team. Everybody that’s ever won MVP has been on a championship-contending team. If you’re an MVP, you’re dominating, you’re efficient, you’re playing the right way, and you’re impacting winning.”
To Tatum’s point, he’s second only to SGA in total plus-minus at +228. His contributions to winning are undeniable.
“So, you can do both,” Tatum continued. “Championship is the most important. Being the best version of yourself is important as well.”
Don’t worry Brad, you can just take the next few months off.
Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-inBoston Celtics fans and fans across the country.Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
This week I asked Celtics fans if they were looking for Brad Stevens to make a move before the trade deadline this year. The majority of you simply said “nah, we’re good.” Or at least “let’s see if there’s any injuries first”
With that said, if the Celtics did make a move, you thought that the bigs position was the most needed.
Personally I feel like we could use more wing depth and maybe a deep rotation point guard. But I understand wanting to bolster the bench when there are age and injury concerns with our bigs rotation.
With a lack of actual moves to make, I’ve decided to fancast a couple of ideas that probably won’t happen, but it would be super cool if they actually did
A long time ago, on a social media app far, far away, a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe made a photoshopped image of John Krasinski in a Fantastic Four suit. This started the campaign to actually cast Krasinski as Reed Richards in whatever film Marvel may actually put him in, which they actually did for a short sequence in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,to a great many oos and ahhs from the crowd.
This is a process called “fancasting,” in which fans of a thing dream up the best possible actors, directors, or players to actually create and execute said thing. It exists in the NBA as well. The New York Knicks effectively fancasted their way into recreating the 2017 Villanova roster at the expense of all their draft picks, and the Philadelphia 76ers fancasted Paul George into their glorious cap space at the expense of still being completely mediocre at basketball.
I’ve done my share of fancasting for the Celtics too. I got in on the ground floor of Jrue Holiday-to-Boston Inc. (and man did that pay off in the end), but I also was adamant that Boston should select Kris Dunn over Jaylen Brown in 2016 NBA Draft — I wrote that in my seventh grade sports blog, which will never ever eversee the light of day again.
Fancasting doesn’t have to be realistic, but it has to have greater than a 0% chance of actually happening. I will never win my war against the Celtics fan accounts prophesizing that Cooper Flagg will wind up a Celtics because he said they were his favorite team. That is not happening for at least, like, 9 years.
It’s an inexact science, but with the Celtics not needing much in the way of actualmoves, I thought I would put together a few low-key fancasts for Boston’s rotation going forward. We have two hometown heroes, a veteran ring-chase and a one semi-delusional idea that may need a little more time in the oven before they hit the presses. In any case, here are my top three fancasts for the Celtics going forward.
Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images
1. Daniel Theis provides center insurance
Nobody seems to know what’s going on with Xavier Tillman this year. After legitimately contributing in the NBA Finals, he’s just not playing. At big, Boston seems to prefer all of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Luke Kornet and Neemias Queta. Tillman just can’t find minutes, but do I have the solution to his struggles.
He already has a ring, so why not take your talents to the Big Easy, where centers and winning presently don’t exist? In return, Boston would be thrilledto take all 2 million dollars worth of Daniel Theis off the Pelicans’ hands to get the Bostonian-German elbow-to-the-face-extraordinaire back in Beantown to play some real minutes at backup big.
It’s the perfect move. Theis’ skillset is basically budget Horford, allowing Joe Mazzulla to keep his rotations completely intact, something he seems to be doing with both Hauser and Jordan Walsh when Tatum has to miss games. And I don’t know one person in Boston who wouldn’t love Theis back — he took so much pain and referee-malpractice directly on the chin for us, so the least we can do is offer him the third or fourth center spot.
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
2. Isaiah Thomas fills the 12th spot on the bench
Let’s get one thing clear: #TheSlowGrind is not playing a singularminute for this team outside of ultra-blowout garbage time. Not even regular blowouts. I’m talking 30-points, under fivee minutes, it’s-mathmatically-impossible-to-lose-because-of-how-many-times-you-can-divide-the-remaining-time-by-24 type games. But Thomas actually saw a roster spot for the first time in a hot minute last year, checking in for the injury-decimated Phoenix Suns, which was cool to see.
Thomas is also a legend in the fancasting scene because in the last three years, he’s fancasted himselfonto every team in the NBA at some point via his X account. It’s usually something like “Love what they’re doing over there in Charlotte! Could use a veteran point to mentor those young guns (eyes emoji) #TheSlowGrind.” It’s a well-known joke among terminally online NBA fans, but I think it’s time to move past that for the sake of historical wellbeing.
If there’s one guy on the entire planet who deserves to ring chase with Boston, it’s IT. Everyone in Boston remembers how great he was. We all had jerseys. He grabbed a tanking team captained by Jeff Green by the scruff and brought it back to the Eastern Conference Finals. He wasn’t just onthe bridge team between Pierce-KG and Tatum-Brown, he was the bridge, stretching his 5’9” frame across the Charles River and carrying everybody across. He couldn’t get there with us, but man do we love him for it.
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
3. Celtics acquire Bam Adebayo...in like two years
What? How the— this has to be a joke, right?
I acknowledge this plan is the opposite of airtight. It’s basically impossible for Boston to get Adebayo without either getting under the second apron (trading a starter, so no) or trading Jaylen Brown (trading Jaylen Brown, so no). But as much as the Miami Heat really annoy me, I love Bam as a player and would love to see him in green and white.
Right now, it makes no sense. The Celtics have no reason to radically shake up their roster since everything is going so well it might even be getting boring. But down the line, the Celtics will almost certainly have to do something big to shake up the team around Brown and Tatum if they still can’t aggregate salaries in a trade from the second apron.
Adebayo is one of my favorite “would love to see him in Boston” players because it’s not like I’m asking for Luka or Giannis or someone completely bananas. Bam is an excellent player, but he’s the third star on a championship team, not first and probably not second. But you can actually acquire those guys, whereas super-duper-stars under 30-years-old are guarded like all the gold at Fort Knox.
We’re far from needing to discuss this, but what will the nextversion of this team look like? Who might be the next Derrick White? The next Kristaps Porzingis? I would love one of the answers to that question to be “Bam Adebayo,” and I’m sure there are plenty of jersey edits already out there. Not saying we’ll need one, but I’m filing one away in a super-secret desktop folder for future use if this actually happens. Just in case.
Brown’s mother and Celtics assistant coach Amile Jefferson were both victims of home break-ins this past week, and the Celtics’ reflected on the emotional toll of the incidents after loss to Bulls.
BOSTON — On Sunday, with the Celtics in Washington DC to face the Wizards, Jaylen Brown’s mother was the victim of a home break-in. On that same day, assistant coach Amile Jefferson’s home was also broken into — and his 2024 NBA championship ring was stolen.
Players made clear the incidents, and their aftermath, have taken a psychological toll. Brown missed practice on Tuesday to spend time with his mom, and after Thursday’s uncharacteristic Celtics’ loss to the Bulls, he admitted it had been an emotionally challenging couple of days.
“It’s been a tough week,” Brown said. “Obviously, my mother’s security is of utmost importance to me, and that’s been compromised — so it’s been a tough week. We’ve had media members and reporters outside our house trying to get an inside scoop. Like, have some respect.”
Jaylen Brown on the break-in his mother experienced this week:
“We've had media members and reporters outside our house trying to get the inside scoop. Like, have some respect. It’s been a tough week.” pic.twitter.com/6cl7GsphKJ
Brown acknowledged that his mother — who was in the home at the time of the break-in — was physically unharmed and that nothing directly threatening occurred.
“But the fact that it could have just kind of lingers in your mind,” he said.
The incidents are the latest in a string of burglaries that high-profile athletes across the nation have faced — a growing list includes Bucks forward Bobby Portis, Timberwolves guard Mike Conley, Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, and Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
The increased crimes led the NFL and NBA to both share memos with players about taking safety precautions, with the FBI connecting some burglaries to “transnational South American Theft Groups” that are “reportedly well-organized, sophisticated rings that incorporate advanced techniques and technologies, including pre-surveillance, drones, and signal jamming devices” per the Associated Press.
The memo said the burglars are mostly after “cash and items that can be resold on the black market, such as jewelry, watches, and luxury bags.”
While nothing was taken out of Brown’s mother’s home, in Amile Jefferson’s case, the lucrative championship ring was stolen.
Before the game, Joe Mazzulla said the Celtics were working to psychologically support all affected parties, as well as to educate players and staff about precautionary steps they can take.
“Obviously when something like that happens, you’re much more heightened to the awareness,” Mazzulla said. “So just being educated on all the small steps you can take. A lot of it’s out of your control, but there are things that you can do.
“Whether it’s been our front office, whether it’s been the security team, whether it’s been local police departments, they’ve done a good job educating us on how we can get better. But the most important thing is making sure the families and people involved are as comfortable and safe as they can be, and not just safe from the standpoint of their homes, but psychologically as well.”
Mazzulla said the unfortunate incidents created a chance for him and the organization to demonstrate support and solidarity on a human level.
“When you have opportunities like this to make things bigger than basketball, to be there for people, you try to take advantage of that,” Mazzulla said. “I just hope that they know that we’re there for them.”
Joe Mazzulla on Celtics’ support for Jaylen Brown and Amile through the break-ins:
“When you have opportunities like this to make things bigger than basketball, to be there for people, you try to take advantage of that. I just hope that they know that we're there for them.” pic.twitter.com/AeMcomIbWp
“They’re healthy, which is good, so they’re safe,” Mazzulla said. “It’s a scary thing for people. You see it happen around different sports, so you’re obviously aware of it. If it happens to you, you have an understanding of the risk there. We’re just happy that they’re safe.”
Jayson Tatum reiterated that the whole experience served as a reminder that basketball is secondary to family and life.
“It really puts things in perspective,” Tatum said. “Obviously, everybody’s family is most important, more important than any game that we’ll play. So I can only imagine how tough that is to have it on your mind and still try to come out here and do your job at a high level. Just being there for him in any way that we can and knowing that we’re all in this together.”
Brown made clear the incident had shifted his perspective, but declined to elaborate on what he meant.
“To go through that experience and people still in there, still in the crib and stuff like that, it just makes you think about some things differently,” Brown said.
After several days of rest, Boston looked rusty and couldn’t overcome a poor shooting night.
Couldn’t shake off the rust
This game was not pretty. After playing two games in the last two weeks, Boston had an uncharacteristically poor shooting performance. They left the door open for the Bulls to stick around, and they did just that.
Lead Tracker (via NBA.com)
They lost the 3PT battle, and shot just 25% from deep while attempting 56 3’s. That’s an easy way to not only lose, but to get blown out. That wasn’t really the case with this one though, they led for the majority of the game and seemed like they would be able to finish it out.
The major turning point came in the 4th quarter, with an energetic lineup from the Bulls followed by an intervention from the officials.
2. Stuck in the mud
Zach LaVine’s scoring carried Chicago for a significant portion of the game, and was a big reason why they managed to stay within striking distance. It was the bench however, that turned the tide of this game.
The Bulls started the 4th quarter down by 4, and went with a lineup of Ball/Dosunmu/Phillips/Horton-Tucker/Smith. With just one starter on the floor in Dosunmu, this group brought a level of energy that Boston really did not have an answer for. They were quick in their rotations, and moving laterally while defending the ball. On top of that, they rushed the ball down the floor immediately after made and missed shots from the Celtics.
It was reminiscent of the speed that the Pacers played with that really pushed Boston in the ECF. The C’s weren’t able to get their defense set, and often got caught flat-footed in transition. There were a troubling amount of blow-bys that ended up as completely uncontested layups in that stretch.
With Lonzo swapped for Coby White, the Bulls flipped a 88-85 Celtics lead, to a 99-92 lead for themselves. Both teams’ starters checked back in shortly after, but the C’s had another challenge ahead of them…
3. The ref show
For as rough as this game was, it was setting up nicely for a back-and-forth crunch time ending. That energy was quickly sucked out of the building as the refs inserted themselves into the picture. I’m not one to harp on the ref’s performance after a game, because blaming them for a loss is usually just an excuse to avoid mentioning what really went wrong. That’s true for this game as well, but it was impressive how quickly the game changed at the hands of the officials.
They dished out one of the quickest technicals I’ve ever seen to Mazzulla, and followed that up with two more T’s for Brown and Tatum. I won’t pretend to know what was said on the floor, but it’s hard to imagine it was much more frustration than they’re usually met with. Giving a team that short of a leash is just strange when it’s so late in the game, and the Celtic’s never managed to recover from it.
Mazzulla was about as animated as he’s ever shown during a game too, having to be actively restrained from approaching the crew on multiple occasions. He’s been known to go that far in an attempt to manipulate the energy of a game, but it’s different when the game is already over. Maybe it’s his way to get the team ready for the next one.
Jaylen struggled in most areas throughout this game. He added to the team’s 3PT struggles, finishing 1/8 from deep. On top of that, he looked disconnected and a step slow defensively. There were a few rotations or switches that he was either late to, or didn’t recognize altogether.
Brown was also on the court for Chicago’s early 4th quarter run, and he wasn’t able to bring much on either end to stabilize things. Offensively, it felt like he tried to get involved during that stretch, but it ended up with him holding on to the ball too long without getting others involved.
his game added to a less than spectacular streak of recent performances from Jaylen. Hopefully with a rematch coming up, and a more difficult schedule on the horizon, Boston can get more out of Brown.
5. Tatum was underutilized
This was a good game from Tatum. He finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. There were pockets of the game where he looked ready to carry the team to a win. The Celtic’s would’ve been wise to call on him more often though.
Jayson was the most consistent scoring option, and Chicago didn’t have a scheme or defender that seemed to bother him. In hindsight, feeding him more should’ve been a priority. He checked in with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, and only had 3 FGA in that time.
Tatum and Holiday were the only two Celtics to finish a 9-point loss without a negative +/-.
6. Jaden Springer sighting
After being shut down one game into summer league, I was hopeful that indicated Jaden Springer would have a role this season. He had a few chances throughout preseason, but wasn’t really able to make an argument for himself. As a result, he’s been used only in garbage time without any real minutes… until the Bulls came to town.
In typical Mazzulla fashion, he threw Chicago a curveball with a 1st quarter Springer substitution. Without Hauser, someone was going to be depended on for wing minutes. Recently, that has been where Walsh or Peterson is called upon. Likely to his own surprise, Springer got the first opportunity.
His performance didn’t make any statements in favor of his standing moving forward, but he was active defensively and on the glass. It feels like his point of attack defense could be particularly useful, but he’ll have to display a developed offensive game to stick.
His name has been floated consistently as the Celtics’ most likely trade piece, and there’s a possibility this was a move to increase his value. Personally, I don’t think that’s how Mazzulla typically operates, and I have a hard time believing Brad Stevens would ask that from him.
7. 1st Team All-DWhite
Derrick stayed confident, but never found his shot, finishing a disappointing 3/12 from 3. Despite the inefficiency, he put together a strong defensive performance worthy of some recognition.
It brings me great joy to watch players continue to drive on Derrick White, only to have their shot stuffed back in their face. He is one of the most technically sound shot blockers and that’s no secret, but he’s still somehow underestimated.
Believe it or not, this play was not considered a block for White. The ref chose to call it a travel, ignoring the effort and anticipation to shut the drive down completely. Even with the robbery in the box score, Derrick wouldn’t be denied.
He took on a considerably bigger player in Patrick Williams, and absolutely swallowed up the shot. If you slow that one down, the hang time is even more impressive as Williams tries to wait him out.
He got LaVine later on while chasing him around a screen. His ability to accurately target the ball on block attempts like that is not normal, but something he is uniquely great at.
8. Matchup versatility
The Celtics started the game with a few interesting, but not unfamiliar matchups. Tatum was deployed as the primary defender for Bull’s center Nikola Vucevic. Tatum’s size, length and defensive versatility makes him a legitimate option against most bigs, outside of the Jokic/Embiid tier.
We saw this throughout the playoffs with Tatum taking on Myles Turner, Daniel Gafford and Derrick Lively on occasions. He held his own when matched up with Vucevic as well, but the larger benefit is that it allows Porzingis to roam more effectively.
Porzingis spent most of his time on the floor guarding whichever Bulls wing was in the game. This meant that he was typically defending the corner, giving him an easy route to rotate over as a rim protector. It also takes some pressure off of him defensively, so he’s not forced to battle all game with the other team’s centers.
Since returning, Porzingis has provided a noticeable boost to Boston’s rim defense, and this has been a good way to keep him in prime help position. It also takes advantage of one of the league’s most versatile defenders.
9. Pritchardalmost had what the game needed
Payton has emerged this season as an elite scoring punch off the bench. He also has a knack for making the plays that supercharge the energy in the building. In the closing seconds of the 3rd quarter, Pritchard drilled a step back 3 that got the Garden crowd involved, and felt like the moment that could energize the team.
As we know, that is unfortunately not how things played out. Pritchard went on to miss 3 straight shots during the Bulls 4th quarter run, and they didn’t get production anywhere else.
10. Horford is uninvolved
The plan with Al Horford is quite clear these days, rest in the regular season is the priority. This means he gets the night off during back-to-backs, but it’s looking more common for him to be an offensive afterthought during the games he does play.
This isn’t really a criticism, it’s easy to understand the benefits of keeping his offensive burden as small as possible until the playoffs roll around. It has been a factor in his ability to extend his career this long, while remaining impactful when it matters.
On a night like this though where Horford didn’t have much juice, it might’ve been worth leaning on Kornet instead.
Boston Celtics coaches Joe Mazzulla and Sam Cassell. | Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Or maybe it was just holiday cheer?
87It’s not often that you see the Boston Celtics log the same amount of made threes as technical fouls in a quarter, but that was the case in the fourth quarter of Thursday’s 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
On a night when Boston made just 25% of its long-distance attempts, frustrations were already high. The Celtics were playing the same brand of basketball as they always do: strong effort on the defensive end, creativity and good ball movement on the offensive end, and a high volume of three-point attempts.
It just wasn’t working.
“Yeah, I think we played a high-level defensive game in the first half, and I thought we fought for great shots,” said head coach Joe Mazzulla. “And when we, you know, I thought it was one of the times where lack of shot-making just kind of took a toll on our defense over time, and they made some tough ones, especially late in the clock. And, you know, you work the best you can to defend at a high level, regardless of the result at the other end... I think, you know, when you shoot 25% but you’re fighting for great looks, and you have a team that shoots 37% just kind of wears on you a little bit.”
Yet, they still found themselves within three points of Chicago with 5:12 to play in regulation.
Then this happened.
Both Payton Pritchard and Jaylen Brown simultaneously tied up Ayo Dosunmu for a jump ball, after the Bulls guard secured a rebound. The official, Justin Van Duyne, decided that Pritchard would be the Celtic doing the jump, and then things got testy.
Van Duyne whistled Mazzulla for a technical foul and then Brown suffered the same fate shortly after.
Technical on Joe Mazzulla. Sam Cassell and Tony Dobbins kept him from potentially getting a second one. Mazzulla later had more to say in the direction of Justin Van Duyne.
During his postgame availability, Mazzulla insisted that he was teched up for being on the court since that’s against NBA rules.
Though his coach wouldn’t budge, Brown had plenty to say about what happened, including his opinion that Mazzulla didn’t earn the technical.
“Here’s the thing. Like, no, you get fined (as a player),” Brown explained. “I got fined a couple of weeks ago for, like, inadvertent gestures, you know, it’s determined not a part of the game which was fine. I took the fine, but like, what part of the game is, like a ref, you know, calling an inadvertent technical foul? And then, like, I said to him, ‘You call the tech for no reason.’ He said, ‘If you say it to me again, I’m gonna call another tech.’ You call the tech for no reason, then you call the tech like, man, get out of here. You can’t threaten guys with a technical foul. That’s not part of the game either. You know, you want to find people for gestures and all this stuff. Find that like there’s some bulls—-, like, we were down three at that time on the jump ball. Then that led to us being down eight. You know that affects the game. You know that could have been avoided. Joe didn’t say anything to deserve a tech.”
From that point in the game on, the Celtics’ frustrations continued to boil over. They were outscored 18-12, Jayson Tatum picked up a technical of his own, and then tempers flared after the final buzzer.
Mazzulla had to be held back by Boston’s bench as he had some words for Van Duyne. It might’ve been the most upset we’ve seen. According to him, he was just making sure he wished the officials a Merry Christmas.
“I wasn’t sure I was going to see them before the holiday, and I just can’t let a moment go by to where you wish someone you know, just the best to them and theirs and their families.”
Don’t get it twisted, The officials are not to blame for the Celtics losing this game. The Celtics are. They failed to make shots that they would normally make and let those frustrations boil over into other aspects of their game.
Zach LaVine leads the way for the Bulls in a big road win.
Boston finally returned to action at TD Garden Thursday, 19th of December as the team headed into only their 3rd game in 2 weeks due to the NBA Cup scheduling. The Celtics have won 12 out of it’s last 14 games and come into the final stretch of 2024 with the second-best record in the league, behind only the Cleveland Cavaliers. Prior to tip-off, Jayson Tatum received his NBA player of the month trophy from Wyc Grousbeck, his fifth all-time, to add to his well-deserved and growing trophy display.
The opening portion was a fast-paced affair as both teams looked to push the ball and get quick shots off. Unfortunately for the fans in attendance, both teams were quite rusty as Boston opened up the game going just 2-10 from the field. It took the Celtics until the sixth minute to finally scored there first three-pointer as Jayson Tatum hit on his second attempt. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were the recipients of offensive fouls called on the Bulls for a Zach LaVine charge and moving screen respectively. Payton Pritchard continues to shine off the bench for Boston as he hit on his first touch and shot attempt, a deep three-pointer.
David Butler II-Imagn Images
Kristaps Porzingis returned to action Thursday night versus Chicago.
Boston’s poor shooting of 34 percent in the first quarter was matched by Chicago 37 percent as both teams STRUGGLED to start the game. The quarter would end with Boston slightly ahead 25-21, as both teams combined to go 6 for 26 from three. Joe Mazzulla surprised the fan base giving the early nod to Jaden Springer, in an attempt to match the speed and quickness of Coby White.
Payton Pritchard was hustling hard to start the second quarter with a pair of loose ball gets, highlighted by diving onto the parquet in-between two Bulls players. Al Horford was back to his best as the big man registered his second blocked shot of the game with a chase down play on Coby White.
With the Celtics up 5 points midway through the second quarter, Patrick Williams was a bright spot for Chicago pacing the Bulls with 3 made three-pointers. Not to be outdone, Nikola Vucevic also chimed in, hitting his first three, who has been a decent long-range shooter this season with an impressive 47.5 percent on the year.
With Josh Giddey out for Chicago, the Bulls style of play looked unchanged as they still looked to push the pace of the ball and kick it out to perimeter shooters. The Bulls would actually hit more contested threes than uncontested in the second quarter, as the road team roared back to life to take back the lead momentarily.
Boston’s offensive output certainly stagnated in the second quarter, and it was left to Kristaps Porzingis working in the painted area, the Latvian big man got 8 consecutive points for Boston in a late 2nd quarter stretch. The Celtics and Bulls lead the league in three-point makes at 494 and 446 apiece, and it was Chicago who was the better in the first half, finishing 9-24, compared to Boston’s 6-23. Jayson Tatum’s driving layup, his 17th point of the game propelled Boston to a 57-54 lead at the half.
David Butler II-Imagn Images
Jayson Tatum led the Celtics in scoring on a night he received NBA Player of the Month accolades.
Jrue Holiday scored Boston’s first points in the second half, with a sweet fade away two on the low block. Jayson Tatum then hit his third three of the game as the net sound ripped through the arena. A failed challenge from Joe Mazzulla led to a pair of Coby white free-throws as Chicago got it back to within two points. Derrick White playing defense against Zac LaVine was one of the more entertaining match-ups throughout the game. LaVine’s hot shooting over various Celtics defenders was stymied by Derrick White, whose length challenged a LaVine three-point attempt with his second block in the third quarter.
Boston’s up and down shooting was on full display in the third quarter with a painful two and a half minute scoreless stretch as Chicago kept pace with the World Champs as scores were tied 80-80. A pair of Celtics triples from Payton Pritchard and Jayson Tatum saw Boston do enough to lead after three quarter’s, 86-82.
With leading scorer Jayson Tatum on the bench to start the 4th quarter, Boston started to let the game slip away. The Celtics came out super flat to start as the Bulls went on a 12-0 run and opened up a sizable 9-point lead.
In a bizarre turn of events, referee Justin Van Duyne, gave Joe Mazzulla and then Jaylen Brown technicals, as Zach Lavine capitalized on the mayhem hitting both technicals, resulting in a 104-96 Bulls lead. Boston then capitulated with poor fouls as Billy Donovan’s Chicago group would hold the lead they established early in the quarter to lead 117-108.
Boston next face these Bulls in Chicago Saturday night in what will certainly be yet another close game.
News and rumors from Boston Celtics live tweets and video via Twitter
Keep up with the Boston Celtics on TikTok for behind-the-scenes team activity, highlight replays, fun facts, roster transactions, and community news and video.
Online sites for Boston Celtics basketball NBA live stream
Fans of the Boston Celtics can watch their team on various streaming services. Here's a guide to help you find the best options, prioritizing free services and those with free trials:
Free Streaming Options:
1. NBA.com: The NBA and its broadcast partner TNT occasionally offer free streamed presentations of particular games. To check availability, visit NBA.com and look for the "Watch" link next to the scheduled game. If available, you'll see "Watch TNT" as an option.
2. TNT Overtime: Sometimes available within the NBA League Pass selection box on NBA.com, offering free streaming for select games.
Paid Streaming Services with Free Trials:
1. YouTube TV: Offers a free trial period. Sign up here.
2. Hulu + Live TV: Provides a free trial. Sign up here.
3. fuboTV: Includes a free trial period. Sign up here.
Regional sports networks (RSNs) often air local NBA games. Ensure your streaming service package includes the relevant RSN.
Some streaming providers allow sign-in using credentials from your existing cable, satellite, or telco TV provider without additional cost.
By exploring these options, you can find the best way to watch Boston Celtics games, whether through free streams or by taking advantage of free trials from paid services.
TD Garden Arena location and map
TD Stadium Arena 100 Legends Way, Boston, Massachusetts 02114 Phone: 617-624-1331 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. https://www.tdgarden.com/
Contact the Boston Celtics NBA Basketball organization Boston Celtics Arena and Headquarters 226 Causeway Street, Fourth Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02114 Phone: 866-4CELTIX Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.nba.com/celtics
