The Boston Celtics can get scoring from seemingly every direction, which is one of the reasons why they're an NBA-best 44-12 overall.
On Thursday night, the C's traveled to the Windy City for their first game following the All-Star break. Although the Chicago Bulls put up a fight in the first half, Boston's 3-point attack was too much, leading to its 129-112 road victory.
While the Green Team boasts two 2024 All-Stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, guard Derrick White was the leading scorer. The 29-year-old stuffed the stat sheet with 28 points, five assists, three blocks, and two steals.
Following this prolific performance, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had plenty of praise for White, per Celtics on CLNS.
“He's in that category with Jrue [Holiday],” Mazzulla said. “They have a tendency to affect the game in ways that people may not see sometimes … They just have an innate ability to affect the box score and affect the momentum of the game on both ends.”
Fellow Celtics starter Jrue Holiday had a quieter game, but he still managed to record nine points, six assists, two steals, and one block in just 29 minutes.
And as Mazzulla pointed out, Boston's pair of two-way guards impacted the momentum of the contest at crucial times. When the Bulls held a 62-60 advantage with 10:46 remaining in the third quarter, Holiday grabbed a defensive rebound and then splashed a triple to retake the lead.
A few possessions later, Holiday stole the ball from Bulls center Nikola Vucevic and White turned the turnover into points with a 3-pointer of his own. After that shot gave the C's a 67-62 lead, they never trailed again.
Thanks to Boston's balanced offense, it's seven games ahead of the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics will now carry their seven-game winning streak into a primetime matchup on Saturday night versus the New York Knicks.
Follow Us
Subscribe