The Celtics won their third consecutive game with Monday night's 107-99 win over the Chicago Bulls in what was the final regular-season meeting between the two. Chicago had played Boston tough in each of their prior three matchups, and Monday night was no different.
Despite jumping out to a 16-point lead, led by a 9-0 Jayson Tatum scoring run midway through the third quarter, the Celtics needed all 48 minutes to squeeze out the win at TD Garden.
With DeMar DeRozan leaving the game in the third quarter due to a quad injury, it was Zach LaVine who stepped up for the Bulls, as he scored 15 points in the fourth quarter and cut the Boston lead to two with 2:17 remaining.
Boston would close the game on an 8-2 run, with all eight points being scored or assisted by Tatum. While the Celtics shot just 11-of-41 (26.8%) from three for the game, Al Horford came up with a clutch three in the final minute that would be the dagger.
Horford's three was all set up by Tatum. With the shot-clock winding down, Tatum stepped up and drew a double team, which would lead to Horford getting a great look from three. In a way, this shows maturity from Tatum. Instead of forcing a shot late in the game, he used the threat he poses as a scorer to his advantage, which freed up a great look for his teammate.
Tatum would put the finishing touches on the win with an emphatic dunk, as he finished with 32 points, marking the 21st time this season he has scored 30-plus points.
Here are three takeaways as Boston and Chicago split the season series at two games apiece…
Robert Williams gets the start
When asked pregame if he has thought about moving Robert Williams into the starting lineup at some point, Joe Mazzulla said, "I've thought about it. He's not under a restriction as much as it is just the management."
Williams would get his first start of the season on Monday night, and showed why he deserves to be in the Celtics' starting lineup.
Monday was just the sixth time this season the Celtics held their opponent to under 100 points, and Williams, who totaled two blocks along with six points and seven rebounds was a major contributor.
The Celtics have been looking to improve defensively, and the double big lineup with Horford and Williams could be a solution to that.
Grant Williams steps up
The Celtics are at their best when they get contributions off the bench. Monday night that came from Grant Williams, who scored a season-high 20 points, adding eight rebounds and two blocks.
Williams had 20 of Boston's 34 bench points, as he was the only bench player to finish with a positive plus-minus. Williams had been consistently playing between 16 and 28 minutes over the last couple weeks, but the Celtics relied on him for 37 minutes Monday night.
Celtics limit turnovers and keep assist numbers up
Boston was without Marcus Smart on Monday night and still managed to rack up 25 assists. The Celtics now have 32 games with 25-plus assists this season; they had just 39 such games a season ago.
Monday night was also the first time since Nov. 12 that the Celtics had fewer than 10 turnovers in a game. They have only finished with fewer than 10 turnovers four times this season, and to no surprise, they are a perfect 4-0 in those games.
