It’s good to be home.
After a miserable 1-4 road trip, the Boston Celtics returned to TD Garden and trounced the lowly Chicago Bulls 111-82 on Wednesday at TD Garden.
After a fairly even start to the game, the Celtics went on an offensive onslaught in the second quarter, outscoring the Bulls by 21 points. From there the win for the Celtics hardly was in question, as they kept Chicago at arm’s reach through the entirety of the second half.
Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 18 points, while Kyrie Irving (17), Jayson Tatum (14), Gordon Hayward (11), Terry Rozier (12) and Al Horford (10) also were in double figures. Shaquille Harrison paced Chicago with 16 points and was one of four Bulls in double digits.
With the win, the Celtics climb to 8-6, while the Bulls fall to 4-11.
Here’s how it all went down:
STARTING FIVE
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: Jaylen Brown
F: Jayson Tatum
F: Gordon Hayward
C: Al Horford
BACK AND FORTH
It was mostly level-pegging through the first 12 minutes, but the Bulls held the lead nearly the entire frame and finished the quarter ahead 24-19.
Chicago led 12-4 after 3:25, but from there the Celtics mounted a comeback, taking a one-point lead near the midway point after putting together a 9-0 run. That proved to be the only time in the quarter the Celtics would lead, with the two sides trading chances throughout the rest of the frame.
Jabari Parker had a game-high 11 points after one. Irving led the C’s with nine.
CELTICS TAKE CONTROL
The Bulls have been dreadful all season in the second quarter, and they lived up to the hype Wednesday. The Celtics outscored Chicago 32-11 in the second, heading into the break ahead 51-35.
Boston started taking control by outscoring the Bulls 15-4 in the first half of the quarter. From there they simply kept piling on, finishing the last 3:11 of the frame on a 9-2 run.
Brown and Tatum both scored six points in the second. Parker led all players with 14 points at the half, while Brown paced the Celtics with 12.
C’S KEEP ROLLING
After rolling into the half, the Celtics continued cruising in the third, outscoring the Bulls 26-24 and taking a 77-59 lead into the final frame.
Though the two sides kept things tight in the third, Boston’s advantage never was threatened. The Celtics kept their lead in the neighborhood of 20 points, and any time the Bulls showed some life on the offensive end it quickly was quelled when the C’s almost immediately answered on the other end.
Six players between the two teams had six third-quarter points, including Tatum, Horford and Brown for the Celtics.
WARM UP THE BUS
Understandably, the Bulls were pretty lifeless in the fourth, and Boston outscored them 34-23 to close the door.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will remain at home for a Friday night matchup with the Toronto Raptors. Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 7 p.m. ET.
