Pritchard Scores 30 Off the Bench as Celtics Beat Bulls 125-111 in NBA Cup Opener

Payton Pritchard scored a season-high 30 points off the bench and the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 125-111 on Friday night at TD Garden, in the NBA Cup Group C opener for both teams.

Jayson Tatum added 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Boston. Paul George had 18 points, six rebounds and eight assists. The win was Boston's fourth straight since an opening road loss to Detroit, and it completed a perfect 4-0 homestand.

A first half that broke the game open

Boston led by as many as 32 points in the second quarter and led 78-49 at halftime after shooting 63 percent from the field in the first half. Pritchard scored 20 of his 30 points before halftime. Boston's 78 first-half points were four shy of the franchise record of 82. The quarter scores told the same story: Boston put up 44 points in the first quarter and 34 in the second, while Chicago managed 25 and 24.

Pritchard also passed Isaiah Thomas for 12th place on the TD Garden all-time scoring list during the game.

The production was shared across the rotation's top names. Pritchard's 30 came off the bench, Tatum's 26 came with seven rebounds and seven assists, and George added 18 points with six rebounds and eight assists, so Chicago had to guard scoring and playmaking at the same time. Boston's scoring slowed after halftime, with 21 points in the third quarter and 26 in the fourth, but the cushion built before the break was large enough to absorb Chicago's best quarter of the night.

Chicago's late reply was not enough

Caleb Wilson led Chicago with 23 points, including six 3-pointers. The Bulls lost their fourth straight. They shot 37.6 percent from the field and 30 percent from 3-point range, making 15 of 50 attempts. Chicago did win the fourth quarter 37-26, after scoring 25 in the third, but the early deficit held and the final margin closed only to 14 points.

Where the win leaves Boston

The Celtics improved to 4-1 and start Group C at 1-0 with a plus-14 point differential, a number that can matter in the Cup group tiebreaks. Boston's next game is Sunday at the Orlando Magic, and its next NBA Cup game is November 6 at the Charlotte Hornets. Chicago leaves Boston still looking to stop a losing run that has now reached four games.

For Chicago, Wilson's six 3-pointers were the bright spot in a fourth straight defeat. The Bulls shot 37.6 percent from the field as a team, and their 15 made 3-pointers came on 50 attempts, so the late push in the fourth quarter closed the margin without ever changing who controlled the game. Boston, by contrast, leaves the night at 4-1 with a perfect homestand complete and its Cup account opened with a win.