Pritchard Drops 28, Boston Buries Chicago 134-99
Payton Pritchard put up 28 points, 4 assists, and 2 steals as Boston dismantled Chicago 134-99 on October 26. The 35-point margin was never really in doubt — the Celtics led wire to wire and pulled away methodically every time the Bulls dared to get close.
Boston came out swinging. Paul George hit back-to-back threes — a 25-footer off a Tatum assist, then a 26-footer off Derrick White — and White added his own 27-footer to push the lead to 9-2 before the first media timeout. Chicago clawed back through Jalen Smith's and-one three and Matas Buzelis free throws to pull within one at 9-8, and for a stretch it looked like the Bulls might actually make a game of it. Then Jayson Tatum fed Mitchell Robinson for two dunks in quick succession, and the Celtics started separating. When Buddy Hield's 25-foot three cut it to 19-18 midway through the first, the game appeared genuinely competitive. That's when Pritchard took over. His 25-foot step back three at the 2:40 mark — the single biggest win-probability swing of the night, moving Boston's home win probability from 84% to 87% — was the punctuation mark on Chicago's last real threat. Hugo Gonzalez followed with a running layup and a 22-foot three, both off Tatum assists, and Boston closed the first quarter on a 15-3 run to lead 33-21.
The second quarter told a similar story with a brief detour. Caleb Wilson opened with a driving dunk and a free throw to trim it to 33-24, and Chicago actually pulled within four at 40-44 on a Leonard Miller layup with 6:23 left in the half. But Pritchard was everywhere — he assisted Sam Hauser for back-to-back buckets, hit a free throw, and then buried a 27-foot running jumper off a Derrick White feed to push the lead back to 16. The Bulls' second-quarter surge, which saw Josh Giddey and Norman Powell combine for 10 quick points, ultimately went nowhere. Boston's depth was simply too much.
The story of the night was Pritchard's dominance and the sheer breadth of Boston's contributors. Tatum finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists — his fingerprints were all over the first quarter in particular, with three assists on Robinson dunks and Gonzalez buckets. Paul George added 16 points and 5 rebounds. Gonzalez chipped in 13 points and 5 rebounds off the bench. For Chicago, Norman Powell's 20 points and 4 steals were a bright spot, and Caleb Wilson's 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks showed some fight. But the Bulls were outgunned at every position. Boston's offense looks like a machine that hasn't found its ceiling yet, and Pritchard — already being called the Celtics' iso king — appears ready to make that label stick.