Boston Celtics (4-1) beat Chicago Bulls (1-5) 125-111 at home on Friday, October 30, never trailing at a quarter break.
The game, quarter by quarter
The Celtics struck first, taking the opening quarter 44-25 and a 19-point lead after one. The Celtics kept the pressure on with a 34-24 second quarter, carrying a 29-point lead into halftime.
The Bulls won the third 25-21 to stay in front, taking a 25-point lead into the fourth. The Bulls took the fourth 37-26; the Celtics held on for a 125-111 regulation win.
What decided it
The Celtics got more from their shots, finishing at 57.3% effective field-goal shooting compared with 46.2% for the Bulls. The Celtics made 37.8 free throws per 100 field-goal attempts, compared with 28.3 for the Bulls. That shooting gap supplied the clearest edge.
The Bulls did win one battle, second chances: ORB% of 38.5% against 22.5%. The Celtics made up for it elsewhere.
At roughly 105 possessions per team, the Celtics produced 118.9 points per 100 possessions to 105.6 for the Bulls.
Who made the difference
Payton Pritchard was the game's biggest individual force for BOS: 30 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast on 9-17 shooting. His Game Score of 22.1 led everyone. His team was +12 with him on the floor.
Caleb Wilson led the Bulls with 23 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast on 7-16 shooting, good for a 17.5 Game Score.
What it means
The result fit the pre-game Win Meter, which gave the Celtics about a 88% chance.
Across the last 8 meetings in our records, Boston Celtics lead 6-2.
The Celtics are now 4-1, and the Bulls are 1-5. The Celtics last five before this game: L-L-W-W-W.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.