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

Featured image: Payton Pritchard during a Celtics game in Washington, Dec. 15, 2024 (file photo). Photo: Hameltion, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Payton Pritchard scored 30 points off the bench as the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 125-111 on Friday night, Oct. 30, at TD Garden in the Celtics Bulls NBA Cup opener for both teams. Boston scored 44 points in the first quarter, led by as many as 32 and won its fourth straight game to improve to 4-1.

How the Celtics ran away from Chicago

Chicago led 9-6 in the opening minutes. Boston answered with a 38-16 run to close the quarter, according to the Celtics’ game recap, and four players scored at least eight points in the period. The Celtics also had six steals in the first quarter, then four over the final three quarters combined.

The lead reached 32 with 1:52 left in the first half, and Boston took a 78-49 advantage into the locker room. The Bulls never got the deficit below 14 after the break, and they did most of their damage in the fourth quarter after Boston’s starters had been pulled, The Associated Press reported.

It was the second Celtics win over Chicago in five days. Boston won 134-99 on Monday, a game TBR covered in its recap of Pritchard’s 28-point night.

Pritchard, Tatum and George lead the scoring

Pritchard made 9 of 17 shots, including 3 of 9 from 3-point range, and went a career-best 9-for-9 at the free-throw line, according to the team. He scored 20 of his points in the first half. After hitting seven 3-pointers in Monday’s win, he did most of his scoring on Friday inside the arc, making 6 of 8 two-point attempts.

Jayson Tatum added 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Paul George had 18 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Neemias Queta scored 13 points off the bench, 7 of them at the line, and Mitchell Robinson made all four of his shots for 11 points. Derrick White recorded the 500th steal of his career in the second quarter.

“I like pushing him, I like coaching him, and I love him like a brother,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said of Pritchard, as quoted by the team.

By the numbers: a 29-point first half

The final margin hides how lopsided the first 24 minutes were. Boston won the first half by 29 points, while Chicago won the second half 62-47, a 15-point edge, by TBR’s calculation from the ESPN box score. The Celtics’ 44-point first quarter alone was 19 points better than Chicago’s 25.

Shooting decided it. Boston made 42 of 82 shots (51.2%), while Chicago made 35 of 92 (38.0%) and 15 of 50 from deep (30.0%). The Bulls took 10 more shots than Boston, helped by 20 offensive rebounds to Boston’s 9, but they converted 7 fewer field goals. Chicago’s 16 turnovers led to 21 Celtics points.

Both teams attempted 40 free throws, the first time since 2008 that the Celtics and an opponent each reached 40 attempts in a game, according to the team. Boston made 31 of them and Chicago 26, a five-point edge at the line. The teams combined for 60 fouls, but no one fouled out. Boston’s bench outscored Chicago’s 59-40, which means reserves produced 47% of the Celtics’ points, by TBR’s calculation.

Across five games, Boston has outscored opponents by 46 points, an average of 9.2 per game, by TBR’s calculation. The only loss was a 121-113 opener at Detroit on Oct. 20. The streak has included a one-point win over Brooklyn, covered in TBR’s report on Tatum’s buzzer-beater against the Nets, and the two wins over Chicago by a combined 49 points.

Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson leads Chicago

Rookie Caleb Wilson scored 23 points for the Bulls, who fell to 1-5 and have lost four straight. Norman Powell scored 16 and Matas Buzelis 14. “I’ve never been a loser, so I’m going to try my best to make sure that doesn’t happen,” Wilson said after the game, as quoted by the Bulls’ website. He added that it was “unacceptable to be losing like we are.”

Both teams play in East Group C of the Emirates NBA Cup, with Atlanta, Charlotte and Washington, according to the Bulls’ website. Group games count in the regular-season standings. A crowd of 19,156 attended.

What’s next for the Celtics

Boston visits the Orlando Magic on Sunday, Nov. 1, then plays at Houston on Monday, Nov. 2. The Celtics return to TD Garden to face the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Chicago visits Philadelphia on Monday.

Sources

• The Associated Press: Pritchard scores 30 to help Celtics down Bulls 125-111 in NBA Cup action
• Boston Celtics: Keys to the Game, Celtics 125, Bulls 111
• ESPN: Celtics 125, Bulls 111 box score
• Chicago Bulls: Bulls struggle to keep up with Celtics in NBA Cup opener
• NBA.com: Bulls at Celtics play-by-play, Oct. 30, 2026

Additional sources

• AP: Pritchard scores 30 to help Celtics down Bulls 125-111 in NBA Cup action
• CBS Boston: Pritchard nets 30, Celtics ease past turnover-prone Bulls