Boston’s third-quarter threes leave Bulls with a 134–99 loss

BOSTON — The Bulls reached halftime Monday with a problem they could still solve: a 12-point deficit. Twelve minutes later, the game had moved beyond that kind of arithmetic. Boston outscored Chicago 39–21 in the third quarter and finished with a 134–99 victory at TD Garden, turning an uneven first half into a night the Bulls spent chasing perimeter scoring they could not match.

Payton Pritchard supplied 28 points and made seven of his 10 three-point attempts. Jayson Tatum added 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, while Paul George scored 16. Chicago’s leading scorer was Norman Powell with 20. Caleb Wilson finished with 17 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks, but the Bulls did not generate enough efficient offense around those contributions to keep Boston within reach.

The decisive stretch was the third quarter. Chicago had matched Boston’s 33 points in the second, leaving a 66–54 halftime score. Instead of using that period as the beginning of a recovery, the Bulls conceded another acceleration. Boston scored 39 in the third and entered the fourth ahead 105–75. An 18-point swing in one quarter explained much of the final margin before the closing period began.

Pritchard’s shooting gave that separation its shape. The NBA’s game report credited him with 19 third-quarter points and makes on all five of his three-point attempts in the period. Those possessions repeatedly required Chicago to answer with more than a routine two-point basket. Against a Boston team producing that level of perimeter efficiency, merely trading scores would already have left the Bulls losing ground.

The final shooting totals show why the problem lasted. Boston made 21 of 44 three-point attempts, a 47.7 percent rate. Chicago attempted the same number and made 12, or 27.3 percent. That nine-make difference was worth 27 points. Both teams finished with 21 made free throws, so the line did not offset the damage. Boston also made four more two-point field goals, completing the explanation for the 35-point scoring gap.

Chicago’s overall field-goal percentage was 39.3, with 33 makes in 84 attempts. Boston went 46 for 93, or 49.5 percent. This was therefore more than one hot shooter stretching a close game. The Celtics combined superior three-point accuracy with better production inside the arc, and the Bulls could not make up that difference through their own trips to the foul line.

Powell was an exception to Chicago’s perimeter difficulties. He made four of seven three-point attempts, went five for 11 from the floor and added six free throws. His four steals also gave the Bulls a defensive contribution alongside the scoring. Wilson made seven of 15 shots overall, including one of five from three. Their combined 37 points accounted for more than a third of Chicago’s total, but Boston had too many productive possessions for that pairing to control the result.

Matas Buzelis and Josh Giddey each scored 11. Buzelis made two of four threes, while Giddey finished four for seven overall and added four assists. Leonard Miller contributed nine points and nine rebounds. Those individual lines offered pieces Chicago can carry forward, particularly efficient attempts from Buzelis and Giddey, but Monday’s game required a much larger collective response once Boston’s third-quarter run began.

The rebounding totals added another obstacle. Boston finished with 54 rebounds to Chicago’s 40 and collected 19 offensive rebounds compared with the Bulls’ 14. More second opportunities are especially costly when the opponent is already making perimeter shots at a high rate. Chicago needed possessions that ended cleanly on defense; Boston’s extra rebounds helped it keep the pressure on instead.

The Celtics’ supporting shooting also mattered. Sam Hauser scored 11 points and made three of four attempts from long range. Hugo González added 13 points. Pritchard was the clearest source of the third-quarter burst, but Chicago could not treat the rest of Boston’s lineup as a safe place to shift its attention. Tatum’s passing and George’s scoring left several ways for the Celtics to finish a possession.

For the Bulls, the useful distinction is between a night of poor shooting and the broader task of limiting what poor shooting costs. Chicago’s 12 made threes were not enough to compete with Boston’s 21, and the rebounding deficit reduced its chances to slow the game through stops. Fixing only the shooting percentage would leave a substantial part of Monday’s problem untouched.

Chicago’s next scheduled game is Wednesday against New York, followed by another meeting with Boston on Friday. That quick return gives the Bulls a direct comparison: whether they can prevent another quarter in which Boston turns a manageable lead into a 30-point advantage. Monday supplied a precise starting point for that review, with 39 third-quarter points conceded and too little offense to answer them.