Porzingis’ Big Night Steers Boston to a Lopsided Win Over Chicago

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Kristaps Porzingis’ best-scoring performance in the ongoing NBA regular season came at the most perfect time for the Boston Celtics as they recovered from a demoralizing loss at the hands of the Houston Rockets.

Already moved on and ready to return to the NBA winning column, the Celtics smoked the Chicago Bulls, 122-100, behind Porzingis’ stellar outing after hitting a season-best eight three-pointers out of 14 total attempts.

The stretch big man was already in the zone as early as the first quarter after draining three shots from the parking lot that helped the Celtics’ strong start against the Bulls.

Once he got hot from downtown, Boston just made him the focal point of their offense and kept on feeding him the ball while executing several pick-and-pop plays to free him up at the top of the key.

It was just one of those nights when Porzingis felt that he couldn’t miss the rock, shooting with confidence after hitting the 16^th-point mark at the end of the first frame.

Despite Chicago answering back which kept them within striking distance in the second period, disaster struck for the visiting team when Porzingis was fielded back midway through the quarter.

Porzingis’ later three-pointers and put-back slams capped off Boston’s highest-scoring quarter of the game as the defending champions dropped 41 points that extended their advantage to 16 points heading into the second half.

It was all Boston in the last two quarters as Porzingis opened the third with another shooting exhibition, backstopped by Jaylen Brown who made a living in the paint.

When Chicago checked Porzingis’ long-range prowess by refusing to go under the hedge screens in the pick-and-pop, Brown took over for the Celtics and aggressively drove inside the paint area for freebies.

Boston put the cherry on top with several crisp offensive executions in the fourth and limited the Bulls to just 24 markers in the final 12 minutes of action.

Porzingis ended his majestic shooting clinic with 34 points built from 8/14 shooting from downtown alongside 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals.

Meanwhile, Brown backstopped Porzingis with 28 markers, mostly in the paint, with six boards, six dimes, and a steal.

The Celtics will have a day of rest before travelling to New Orleans on the road and challenge the Pelicans on February 1, 2025.