Three Studs, Three Duds From Celtics’ Encouraging Win Over Bulls

The Boston Celtics welcomed the Chicago Bulls to TD Garden for a much-needed victory on Wednesday night.

Boston improved to 33-17 and moved to 13-1 after a loss this season while Chicago fell to 20-29.

Boston responded accordingly after Monday’s narrow loss to an improved Houston Rockets team. The Celtics pushed aside the loss and moved to 23-9 against Eastern Conference opponents this season. Boston needs to find momentum and string together wins with the All-Star week just a few short weeks away. The team showed promise with a dominant second quarter that included a 13-0 run to break the game open.

Here are three studs and two duds from Boston’s 122-100 win:

STUDS
Kristaps Porzingis
Boston’s big man came out on fire in the first quarter, particularly from the perimeter with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 from deep. Porzingis led the Celtics on the night with 34 points and tied a career-best with eight made three-pointers.

Derrick White
White didn’t fire the ball as frequently Wednesday night but he made his shots count for the Celtics with 22 points on 50% shooting from the field.

Jaylen Brown
Brown came on strong in the third quarter to give the Celtics another scoring boost. The Boston star posted 28 points on 10-of-18 from the field.

DUDS
Lonzo Ball
The former first-round draft pick quickly tallied nine points in the first quarter and did not score again in the second or third quarters. The Celtics limited Ball to just eight shot attempts and any scoring to the opening 12 minutes.

Jrue Holiday
Boston’s veteran did have six rebounds and three assists, though Holiday struggled from the field for the Celtics on 3-of-9 shooting and scored just six points in 23 minutes.

Second-quarter Chicago defense
Boston completely changed the course of a once-close game in the second quarter. The Celtics rode a barrage of scoring from the starting five and dropped 41 points for a plus-13 mark in that span. Boston cruised into the half with 68 points in the first 24 minutes.