Kristaps Porzingis' 3-point bonanza powers Celtics to blowout win over Bulls

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Jan 29, 2025

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BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis has preached patience since his return from offseason leg surgery.

He didn’t feel quite like himself yet, the Celtics center said after several games in December and January, but he was getting close. Trust him.

On Wednesday, Porzingis looked all the way back and then some, delivering one of his finest offensive outings in a Boston uniform in a 122-100 rout of the shorthanded Chicago Bulls.

The unicorn big man tied his career high with eight made 3-pointers on 14 attempts as part of a 34-point, 11-rebound, three-steal double-double.

Jaylen Brown added 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting, six assists and six rebounds. Derrick White returned from a one-game absence and hit four 3s to finish with 22 points, plus five assists and a block.

The Celtics shot 40.9% from 3-point range as a team, outgunning a Bulls team that was playing without leading scorer Zach LaVine (personal reasons).

Porzingis got off to another superb start for Boston, scoring 13 points in the opening 3 1/2 minutes. The 7-foot-2 center has been dominant early in games of late, averaging 9.8 first-quarter points over his last 10 contests. Porzingis remained scorching hot from three — he started 3 for 3 from deep — and provided nearly all of the Celtics’ offense in the early going.

Spurts from Brown and Jayson Tatum supplemented Porzingis’ production, but no other Celtics player scored a point in the first quarter, which ended with Boston holding a slim 26-23 lead.

The second quarter featured a much more diverse Celtics scoring attack, with eight different players contributing, and wasn’t nearly as competitive. Boston outscored Chicago 41-28, led by as many as 19 points and took a commanding 68-51 lead into halftime.

White helped jump-start that surge with a pair of 3-pointers, and Brown consistently gave the Bulls problems on drives to the rim, even while he and Tatum combined to go just 1-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half. Porzingis was quiet for the first eight minutes of the second quarter, then erupted again, draining four field goals in a six-possession span, including another three triples.

At the half, Porzingis had 26 points (tying his previous full-game season high) and was a near-flawless 6 for 8 from 3-point range (more 3s than he’d made in any game since Jan. 21, 2024).

Boston kept the pedal down in the third quarter, leading by double digits throughout, and entered the fourth up 96-76. The Celtics’ regulars then scuffled through the final 12 minutes, keeping the Bulls at arm’s length but not delivering any sort of authoritative knockout blow. Joe Mazzulla kept his starters in the game until “Gino Time” played on the Garden jumbotron with 1:43 remaining.

The Celtics were without rotation players Al Horford (big toe) and Sam Hauser (hip) for the second straight game, leading to more early-game cameos from deep reserves. Guard Jaden Springer subbed in midway through the first quarter and hit a corner 3 early in the second, continuing a promising trend for the potential trade candidate.

Springer saw extended playing time in the second half, as well, sharing the floor with Tatum, White, Payton Pritchard and Luke Kornet for a five-minute stretch to start the fourth quarter. The 22-year-old finished with four points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in 18 minutes.

Two-way player Drew Peterson also logged first-quarter minutes for the first time since Dec. 12.

The Celtics will begin a three-game road trip Friday night in New Orleans. The Pelicans own one of the NBA’s worst records but nearly pulled off a major upset Jan. 12 in Boston, losing 120-119 on a last-second missed layup.

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