Tatum, Hauser, Horford lead way as NBA-leading Celtics beat Bulls 124-113 for 9th straight win

Sat, Mar 23, 2024
NBA News (AP)

CHICAGO (AP) - Jayson Tatum scored 26 points, Sam Hauser and Al Horford added 23 apiece, and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics won their ninth straight, 124-113 over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.

Hauser made seven of Boston's 21 3-pointers, while Horford hit 5 of 10 from beyond the arc. Derrick White scored 17. Payton Pritchard added 15 points and eight assists, and the Celtics pulled within two wins of their season-best streak even though Jaylen Brown (sprained right ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring) sat out the game.

Boston scored nine straight to go up by eight early in the fourth quarter and hung on down the stretch. It was a six-point game when Luke Kornet scored on a tip-in and Tatum drove for a layup, making it 117-107 with 3:04 remaining.

DeMar DeRozan led Chicago with 26 points. Alex Caruso, Nikola Vucevic and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 14 as the Bulls dropped their second in a row.

Chicago's Dalen Terry had the crowd roaring late in the third quarter with a thunderous tip-in dunk off a missed jumper by DeRozan to give the Bulls a one-point lead. They were up 92-91 in the closing minute of the quarter when Pritchard made a finger-roll layup and two free throws to start a nine-point spurt for Boston. Hauser capped it with a 3 in the opening minute of the fourth to make it 100-92.

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Tatum scored 19 and Sam Hauser added 14 points as hot-shooting Boston grabbed a 66-60 halftime lead.

The Celtics made 13 of 27 3-pointers, with Hauser nailing 4 of 5 and Horford hitting three. Tatum buried a step-back jumper and a 3 to make it 66-55 with just over a minute remaining, before Vucevic made a hook shot for Chicago and White connected from beyond the arc to make it a six-point game.

The Bulls signed guard/forward Javonte Green to a 10-day contract, bringing him back for a second stint with the team. Green spent parts of three seasons in Chicago after being acquired from Boston as part of a three-team trade involving Washington in March 2021. He played in 10 games this season for Golden State's G League affiliate.

UP NEXT

Celtics: Visit Atlanta on Monday.

Bulls: Host Washington on Monday.

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ANDREW SELIGMAN Seligman covers Chicago sports for The Associated Press. He has been with the AP since 2005. "