After shining with 35, 29 and 40 points in wins over the Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat and Orlando Magic, Jayson Tatum gave Boston a 19-point margin with a stunning start to the game, but the Bulls’ reaction allowed the men to Billy Donovan put behind the 32-point setback he suffered two days ago against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Led by Vucevic’s 23 rebounds, ten of them offensive, the Bulls managed to overcome the intensity of the Celtics who reached the finals last year thanks to aggression and defensive effort.
DeMar DeRozan was the Bulls top scorer with 25 points (shooting 10/17), five rebounds and five assists. In double figures also an excellent Ayo Dosunmu (22 points), Zach LaVine (19) and Derrick Jones (10).
Tatum had 15 points in the first quarter and the Boston Celtics went 8 for 9 from 3 points before stalling and going 18 for 48 (37%).
Tatum’s 26 were joined by Jaylen Brown’s 21, with six rebounds and two assists, but the two stars were not sufficiently supported at the United Center. Malcolm Brogdon finished with twelve points and Marcus Smart with eleven. Al Horford contributed eight points, five rebounds and two assists.
CONSIDERING OF TATUM
The best player of the first week of the NBA could not have started the game better. He scored fifteen points in less than eight minutes on the pitch, turning virtually everything he touched into gold.
He started with a five out of six shots, two triples out of two, three rebounds and three assists to lead, along with the triples from Brown and Horford, a 12-0 run to open the duel.
The Celtics’ 3-point rate was close to perfect at 8 out of 9 when Marcus Smart joined the festival to bring the score 35-16 to turn on and force Billy Donovan’s timeout.
STRONG REACTION OF THE BULLS
That Celtics pace and three of the Bulls’ thirteen shots seemed like an early ruling, but a good final stretch of the first period allowed Chicago to narrow the margin to nine points (39-30), almost a win for the Local.
The good conclusion of the first quarter opened a second period completely dominated by the Bulls. It was a team reaction in which DeRozan, Vucevic and Derrick Jones took the spotlight for their offensive plays, but in which all played a key role.
Vucevic dominated with thirteen rebounds, six of them offensive, Andre Drummond took seven off the bench, Caruso fought for every ball and scored two steals, and Goran Dragic provided the leadership with some great plays that resulted in a resounding 37-11 in Chicago.
LaVine equalized 44-44 from the free-throw line, Dragic backed the basket for the go-ahead (46-44) and a triple from Dosunmu and DeRozan brought the margin to 65-49.
Tatum did not score points after fifteen in the first quarter and Boston went from eight out of nine in triples to nine out of 22. Only Marcus Smart, with five consecutive points, and a triple at the siren, limited the margin to 65-54 for the Celtics at half-time.
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