By Adrian Stewart Co

Chicago Bulls heated up in the second half to score a 102-96 victory over Boston Celtics in the 2020-2021 NBA Season on Monday night (Tuesday in the Philippines) at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.

Nikola Vucevic led the way with 25 points, Coby White added 16 markers, while Garret Temple and Thaddeus Young finished with 13 each as the Bulls improved to 24-33.

Down 42-48 at the half, the Bulls used a strong third quarter surge by Vucevic, White and Young to tie the score at 64-all. Conversions by Lauri Markkanen gave Chicago a 74-66 upperhand.

The Bulls were still hanging around to the advantage in the fourth period but Boston countered with a rally to tie the score at 90-all but former regained the edge at 96-90 on hits by Vucevic, White and Patrick Williams.

The Celtics clawed to within 94-96 on baskets by Payton Pritchard and Tremont Waters but free throw connections by Bulls’ White and Temple sealed the triumph for them.

Jaylen Brown top-scored with 23 points, Jayson Tatum had triple-double 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists, while Pritchard added 14 as the Celtics saw its five-game winning run snapped to drop to 31-27.

Meanwhile, Detroit Pistons (18-40) bucked the absence of several key players to score a 109-105 victory over the slumping Cleveland Cavaliers (20-37).

Frank Jackson and Saddiq Bey led the offense with 20 points apiece, while Isaiah Stewart had double-double 18 points and 16 rebounds for the Pistons, which rested veterans Mason Plumlee and Jerami Grant.

BOX SCORE:

CHICAGO 102 – Vucevic 25, White 16, Temple 13, Young 13, Markkanen 9, Theis 6, Williams 6, Brown 4, Satoransky 3, Valentine 0.

BOSTON 96 – Brown 23, Tatum 14, Pritchard 14, Thompson 11, Waters 9, Ojeleye 8, Parker 8, G. Williams 5, Kornet 2, Langford 2, Nesmith 0.

Quarterscores: 24-30, 42-48, 74-66, 102-96./ASC, WDJ