BOSTON — At first, it was a slow burn. The Chicago Bulls shot 4-for-4 from behind the arc to begin the game. The Boston Celtics stuck with them step for step, but in the early going, this one was close.
Payton Pritchard absolutely took over the end of the first quarter. It didn’t matter who the Bulls put in front of him; all Pritchard saw was a bucket. At one point, Jaden Ivey scored on Pritchard and was smiling while getting back on defense.
So, Pritchard dribbled right at him, sped up, stepped back, and drilled a three in his face.
Boston finished the first quarter up by nine. Pritchard had 10 points.
Pritchard didn’t do it all alone. Jaylen Brown put up 18 first-half points, and his scoring was fueled by frustration, it seemed. Late in the second quarter, it looked like Brown was upset with the officials, as he began talking to them while getting back on defense. His reaction? Dominate in isolation.
Brown beelined to the paint every chance he got, scoring bucket after bucket inside. There was nothing Chicago could do.
When halftime finally provided the Bulls with a brief moment of relief, the Celtics were already up 72-44.
The third quarter was more of the same. Yet in the second half, Nikola Vucevic got in on the fun. He was great all night, but the longer the game went on, the more of a rhythm he developed.
Vucevic had a few errant passes and a couple of moments where he got sped up, but once he settled in, he absolutely torched his old team.
Chicago didn’t have anyone on its roster capable of checking Vucevic in the post. So, he ripped them to shreds with a steady diet of post hooks, slick kick-out passes, and tough screens.
In his first two games as a Celtic, Vucevic wasn’t completely tuned in to the way Boston likes to screen and defend. But on Wednesday night, the improvements were very noticeable. He held screens longer, rotated on defense quicker, and stood his ground in the paint much more effectively.
Sam Hauser’s three-point shooting, Derrick White’s passing, and Jordan Walsh’s defense (especially on Anfernee Simons) rounded out a great pick-me-up game for the Celtics heading into the All-Star break.
Walsh deserves more of a shoutout than that. He was incredible in this game. For the first time in a while, his defensive instincts were on full display, and his rebounding shone through, too. At one point, he even picked up Simons full-court, stripped him at halfcourt, and threw down a monster dunk on the other end.
Big winner: It’s only been a few games, but this was by far the most comfortable Vucevic has looked since he joined the Celtics. And that makes sense, considering he got to go through his first practice with the team on Tuesday morning.
Defensively, Vucevic is always going to have limitations, but on Tuesday, he proved that there’s a way for him to be effective in spite of them. Despite being slow-footed, he was able to rotate. He stood his ground in the restricted area. He waited for help from teammates instead of over-committing.
And on the offensive end, he showed off everything. Vucevic shot the ball well, ran the pick-and-roll beautifully, and acted as an impressive connector, finding wide-open shooters time and time again.
Add in his rebounding, and Vucevic was awesome. Obviously, he’ll need to do it against much better opponents, but this was a great start against his former team.
Ouch, tough one: This is one of the rare nights when the other team gets a spot here. The Bulls are in a brutal spot.
Josh Giddey and Tre Jones didn’t even play, and Chicago had too many guards in the rotation. And zero big men capable of holding their own as a starter.
From the start of the game, Neemias Queta and Vucevic tormented Nick Richards and Guerschon Yabusele.
Chicago has some serious roster construction to do this summer.
The big picture: There isn’t too much that can be taken away from this game. Chicago isn’t a great team. They may not even be a good team. But the Celtics needed this game.
They had been ice cold for a while, and this one allowed them to find their rhythm again, especially from a three-point shooting standpoint.
It was exactly what they needed as they get ready for their week off.
