Boston Celtics (2-1) beat Chicago Bulls (1-3) 134-99 at home on Monday, October 26. The final margin was 35 points.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Celtics struck first, taking the opening quarter 33-21 and a 12-point lead after one. The teams matched each other with 33 points apiece in the second quarter; the Celtics still led by 12 at halftime.
The Celtics won the third 39-21 to create some separation, taking a 30-point lead into the fourth. The Celtics took the fourth 29-24; the Celtics finished the job for a 134-99 regulation win.
Why it was lopsided
The Celtics got more from their shots, finishing at 60.8% effective field-goal shooting compared with 46.4% for the Bulls. The Celtics grabbed 42.2% of their own misses, while the Bulls recovered 28.6%. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
At roughly 109 possessions per team, the Celtics produced 122.7 points per 100 possessions to 90.7 for the Bulls.
Who stood out
Payton Pritchard was the game's biggest individual force for BOS: 28 pts, 1 reb, 4 ast on 10-16 shooting. His Game Score of 24.5 led everyone. His team was +22 with him on the floor.
Norman Powell led the Bulls with 20 pts, 1 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl on 5-11 shooting, good for a 16.4 Game Score.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Celtics about a 87% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Boston Celtics lead 5-2.
The Celtics are now 2-1, and the Bulls are 1-3. The Celtics last five before this game: L-L-L-L-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.