CHICAGO — In what has already been a sparkling season for Payton Pritchard, he continues to show his value to the Celtics when they need his skill set the most, which was Friday night at United Center.
With the Celtics clinging to wild-card hopes in the NBA Cup, they were trading baskets with the motivated Bulls, who needed a victory to clinch Group C and a quarterfinal slot. Pritchard completely changed the game with his shot making, hustle, and toughness.
He dazzled the crowd with 19 points in the first 6:35 of the final period, helping the Celtics take control of a game of runs and hold on for a 138-129 win.
The Celtics finished 3-1 in Group C but in second place because of their 1-point loss to the first-place Hawks, who needed a Boston win over the Bulls to clinch. After Pritchard’s barrage, the Celtics used some key buckets from Kristaps Porzingis, Jayson Tatum, and Jrue Holiday to fight off the feisty Bulls.
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Tatum led Boston with 35 points while Jaylen Brown and Porzingis each added 21. Pritchard finished with 29 on 10-for-16 shooting (7-of-11 on 3-pointers). The Celtics, trying to still claim the wild-card spot, played until the finals seconds with Sam Hauser drilling a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the final margin.
It was apparent by the third quarter that Tatum (14 rebounds) was going to have to carry his teammates, and he responded after the Celtics again started slowly to begin the second half and trailed 80-72. Tatum scored 13 of the Celtics’ next 24 points as he relentlessly attacked the basket and also relied on his 3-point shot.
The Celtics needed every point because they could do little with Nikola Vucevic, who tallied 29 points through the first three periods, including five 3-pointers. The Bulls were also getting contributions from some unlikely sources such as Torrey Craig, who took Kristaps Porzingis off the dribble and canned a stepback 3-pointer.
It was a classic shootout and the Celtics found themselves tied at 96 entering the fourth quarter.
About an hour prior to tipoff, the league released four scenarios where the Celtics could clinch the Eastern Conference’s wild-card spot in the NBA Cup with a victory Friday. All scenarios mandated the Celtics win by at least 16 points and they came out playing as if they wanted to seal that final spot.
Behind Jaylen Brown’s three 3-pointers, the Celtics ran out to a 23-12 lead, overwhelming the Bulls with long-range shooting. The lead later grew to 36-23 after a Tatum 3-pointer and it appeared the same offense that blasted the Clippers on Monday traveled to Chicago.
Yet, after coach Joe Mazzulla pulled Tatum to begin the second period and went with mostly the second unit, the lead disappeared. The threes stopped falling and the Bulls bench flourished against its counterparts. Craig began the period with a pair of 3-pointers. Much-traveled Talen Horton-Tucker scored 7 consecutive points as the Bulls completely erased a 13-point deficit.
Lonzo Ball, who missed the past two years with knee issues, flipped a layup high off the glass and Zach LaVine followed with a baseline jumper for a 55-46 Bulls lead.
Behind Tatum, the Celtics responded with a 14-0 run to retake the lead, and Derrick White’s corner 3-pointer put Boston up 60-55. The wackiness continued when Vucevic, who had made four or more 3-pointers in three games this season, hit four in the span of 93 seconds.
Tatum’s 3-pointer tied the game at 67 by halftime, but the Celtics yielded 37 points on 60 percent shooting in the second period, again besieged by defensive inconsistency. Tatum led the Celtics with 19 points and White added 16 but the Chicago bench dominated the half with 23.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.
