Celtics Hold off Late-Charging Bulls

Robert Williams III makes his first start of the season, helping Boston get off to a good start. Jayson Tatum led all scorers with 32 points with Grant Williams chipping in 20 points off the bench

There was a familiar face back in the Boston Celtics starting lineup. 

The time had come for Robert Williams, aka Time Lord, to be back with the first unit. 

It didn’t take him long to make an impact, scoring Boston’s first points of the night as Boston held on for a 107-99 win over Chicago.

He didn’t really do much after that, which is OK. 

Because for the Celtics to be successful, Williams’ availability is arguably just as important as his ability. 

Williams’ ability to run the floor and finish at the rim, his defense inside the paint and on switches, and his playmaking … the Celtics will need all of that and then some to return to the NBA Finals. 

Jayson Tatum led the way for Boston with 32 points, with Jaylen Brown (19 points) the only other Boston starter to reach double figures scoring. The Celtics got a solid lift off the bench with Grant Williams and Malcolm Brogdon chipping in 20 and 11 points, respectively. 

The utilization of Robert Williams against Chicago made a lot of sense when you consider how Boston has struggled this season against the Bulls’ rugged frontline led by Nikola Vucevic and Andre Drummond, one of the NBA’s all-time great offensive rebounders, coming off the Chicago bench. 

For most of the game, the Celtics played with an edge on the boards before the final tally had Boston with 50 rebounds while the Bulls grabbed 42.

Boston led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, only for the Bulls to chip away and get it back to being a one-possession game. 

Al Horford delivers the dagger shot that rattled in and then above the rim, before dropping through the net with 24 seconds to play which increased Boston’s lead to 104-99.

Chicago called a time-out, but it wouldn’t do any good.

Boston made the necessary defensive stops which included a breakaway 3-point play by Tatum to secure the victory as Boston hit the official halfway point of the season with a league-best 29-12 record.

STARS:

Jayson Tatum: No matter how much attention the Chicago Bulls paid to Jayson Tatum, he still managed to do what Jayson Tatum does a lot this season - score in bunches. He led all scorers with 32 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists.  

Zach LaVine: With DeMar DeRozan having to leave the game early due to a quadriceps strain, more of the offensive load fell on the shoulders of Zach LaVine. He didn’t disappoint, carrying most of the Chicago scoring load as they clawed back from a double-digit lead to make it a one-possession game with less than two minutes to play. LaVine would finish the game with 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Bulls.

STUDS:

Nikola Vucevic: A career double-double performer (16.9 points, 10.5 rebounds), Vucevic was a problem for the Celtics. He would tally his 28th double-double this season, with 21 points and 13 rebounds. His double-double total trails only Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis (29) this season.

Grant Williams: A flurry of shots early in the fourth quarter by Grant Williams helped Boston finally start to put some distance between itself and the Bulls. It was Williams’ 3-pointer with 10:31 to play that gave Boston an 89-75 lead which led to a Chicago time-out. For the game, Williams had 20 points and eight rebounds.

DeMar DeRozan: He has been a mid-range mercenary this season against Boston which got a reprieve of sorts when he had to leave the game early with a right quadricep strain. In just 23 minutes, DeRozan had 13 points on 6-for-9 shooting from the field.

UH-OHS:

Jaylen Brown: Many of the shots Jaylen Brown has been draining all season were off the mark on Monday, as Brown finished with just 19 points on 7-for-21 shooting from the field.