Game ID: 22500503
Chicago Bulls @ Boston Celtics
Monday, January 5, 2026 at 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 31 23 31 30 115CHI 14 19 34 34 101
BOS vs CHI ScoutingBOS vs CHI Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 12/28 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 13 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 26 min since (165% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 12/30 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 2 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 14 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 22 min since (142% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/01 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 3 since 12/26, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 15 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Garza back 12/20 after 4, 21 min since (137% of 16)
NEW González 14 to 25 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/03 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 4 since 12/26, returns tonight: 3 min (18% of 16)
OUT Boucher missed 16 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 21 min over the last 5
NEW González 14 to 23 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 17 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Minott back 1/03 after 4, 3 min since (18% of 16)
BOS availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 18 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Minott back 1/03 after 4, 3 min since (18% of 16)
BOS availability going into 1/09 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 2 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 19 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 21 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/10 · back-to-backOUT Minott missed 3 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 20 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 22 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/12 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 4 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 21 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Garza 16 to 22 min over the last 5
CHI availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Carter missed 8 since 12/12, returns tonight: 5 min (45% of 11)
OUT Terry missed 5 since 12/19, returns tonight: 11 min (98% of 11)
BACK Dosunmu back 12/19 after 3, 18 min since (70% of 26)
CHI availability going into 12/31 · 1 day's restBACK Carter back 12/29 after 8, 5 min since (45% of 11)
BACK Terry back 12/29 after 5, 11 min since (98% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/02 · 1 day's restOUT Collins missed 2 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Carter back 12/29 after 8, 6 min since (50% of 11)
BACK Terry back 12/29 after 5, 11 min since (95% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/03 · back-to-backOUT Giddey missed 2 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT White missed 2 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 3 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Carter back 12/29 after 8, 6 min since (50% of 11)
BACK Terry back 12/29 after 5, 11 min since (100% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/05 · 1 day's restOUT Giddey missed 3 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT White missed 3 since 12/31, returns tonight: 25 min (87% of 29)
OUT Collins missed 4 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Carter missed 2 since 1/02, returns tonight: 12 min (106% of 11)
BACK Terry back 12/29 after 5, 12 min since (105% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/07 · 1 day's restOUT Giddey missed 4 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 5 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK White back 1/05 after 3, 25 min since (87% of 29)
BACK Carter back 12/29 after 8, 8 min since (69% of 11)
BACK Terry back 12/29 after 5, 10 min since (92% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/10 · 2 days' restOUT Giddey missed 5 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Smith missed 2 since 1/05, returns tonight: 16 min (79% of 21)
OUT Collins missed 6 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK White back 1/05 after 3, 25 min since (87% of 29)
BACK Carter back 1/05 after 2, 7 min since (60% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/13 · 2 days' restOUT Giddey missed 6 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 7 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK White back 1/05 after 3, 27 min since (93% of 29)
BACK Smith back 1/10 after 2, 16 min since (79% of 21)
BACK Carter back 1/05 after 2, 5 min since (49% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/14 · back-to-backOUT Giddey missed 7 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 8 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK White back 1/05 after 3, 27 min since (93% of 29)
BACK Smith back 1/10 after 2, 26 min since (127% of 21)
BACK Carter back 1/05 after 2, 5 min since (49% of 11)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 115, shooting 51 percent and 40 from three, 23 free throws a game; Brown at 34 and White at 21 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. One day's rest. Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 118, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Vučević at 20 and Buzelis at 16 a game. Without Giddey (3 straight), White (3 straight), Collins (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 40 percent from three to Chicago's 33 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Chicago plus-1. Call it Boston 123, Chicago 113, Boston by 10.
12/28 @ POR 108-114 — BOS notes
BOS lost 108-114. BOS shot 44% (40 of 91) to POR's 47%, 13 of 44 from three. Brown led with 37 (14 of 23, 2 of 5 from three, 7 of 10 at the line); González added 13, Simons 13. Q2 was theirs, 33-24, turning a 1-point deficit into a 8-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 90-75 against them. They led by as many as 10. Simons's -15 in 19 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/30 @ UTA 129-119 — BOS notes
BOS won 129-119. BOS shot 51% (48 of 94) to UTA's 47%, 13 of 44 from three. BOS turned it over 7 times to UTA's 13. White led with 27 (8 of 16, 2 of 10 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 23, Simons 20. The hinge was Q3, 40-32: BOS came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 3. BOS trailed 59-64 at the half and won the second half 70-55. Simons was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
1/01 @ SAC 120-106 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-106. BOS shot 51% (44 of 87) to SAC's 47%, 17 of 41 from three. Brown led with 29 (11 of 25, 1 of 9 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); White added 16, Pritchard 16. The hinge was Q4, 32-18: from level to 14 ahead. González was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
1/03 @ LAC 146-115 — BOS notes
BOS won 146-115. BOS shot 55% (53 of 96) to LAC's 50%, 24 of 51 from three. The glass went 46-30 for them. Brown led with 50 (18 of 26, 6 of 10 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); White added 29, Simons 15. The hinge was Q4, 33-16: a lead of 14 became 31. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +27.
1/05 vs CHI 115-101 — BOS notes
BOS won 115-101. BOS shot 40% (42 of 104) to CHI's 44%, 20 of 52 from three. Simons led with 27 (9 of 16, 8 of 14 from three); Pritchard added 21, Brown 14. The hinge was Q1, 31-14: from level to 17 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
1/07 vs DEN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 31 and White at 19 a game. That is 4 straight wins. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Denver comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 123, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 25 free throws a game; Murray at 26 and Watson at 21 a game. It has lost the glass by 10 a night. Without Jokić (4 straight), Johnson (7 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-6 a night and Denver minus-10 and the defense, Boston allowing 111 a night to Denver's 123. Call it Boston 122, Denver 113.
1/09 vs TOR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and White at 20 a game. It has won the glass by 10 a night. Without Minott (2 straight). One day's rest. Toronto comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 105, shooting 44 percent and 28 from three, 23 free throws a game; Barrett at 23 and Ingram at 20 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Poeltl (8 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 39 percent from three to Toronto's 28 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-10 a night and Toronto plus-3. Call it Boston 116, Toronto 110.
1/10 vs SAS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 111, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and Pritchard at 19 a game. It has won the glass by 11 a night. Without Minott (3 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. San Antonio comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 111, shooting 44 percent and 30 from three, 27 free throws a game; Wembanyama at 26 and Champagnie at 20 a game. Without Vassell (5 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 43 percent from three to San Antonio's 30 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-11 a night and San Antonio plus-2. Call it Boston 117, San Antonio 114, San Antonio keeping it close.
1/12 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 118, shooting 49 percent and 43 from three, 20 free throws a game; Siakam at 24 and Nembhard at 21 a game. Without Mathurin (4 straight), Toppin (36 straight), Isa. Jackson (10 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 42 from three, 14 free throws a game; Brown at 30 and White at 21 a game. It has won the glass by 9 a night. Without Minott (4 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-9 a night and Indiana minus-2 and the turnovers, Indiana giving it away 14 times a game to Boston's 9. Call it Boston 116, Indiana 114, Indiana keeping it close.
12/29 vs MIN 101-136 — CHI notes
CHI lost 101-136. CHI shot 41% (38 of 93) to MIN's 54%, 13 of 38 from three, and got to the line 14 times to MIN's 25. CHI turned it over 16 times to MIN's 3, and MIN turned those into 9 steals. Vučević led with 23 (10 of 17, 3 of 5 from three); Buzelis added 13, Smith 12. Q1 was theirs, 23-21, but the other 3 periods went 115-78 against them. Dosunmu's -32 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/31 vs NOP 134-118 — CHI notes
CHI won 134-118. CHI shot 51% (47 of 92) to NOP's 43%, 15 of 43 from three, and went to the line 34 times to NOP's 27 — 25 points from the stripe to their 22. Okoro led with 24 (8 of 10, 2 of 4 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Jones added 20, Buzelis 19. The hinge was Q4, 37-28: a lead of 7 became 16. Okoro was the night's best plus/minus at +31.
1/02 vs ORL 121-114 — CHI notes
CHI won 121-114. CHI shot 50% (45 of 90) to ORL's 50%, 14 of 41 from three. The glass went 47-36 for them. Buzelis led with 21 (6 of 14, 2 of 8 from three, 7 of 8 at the line); Huerter added 20, Vučević 17. The hinge was Q4, 30-19: CHI came in trailing by 4 and left it ahead by 7. Okoro was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
1/03 vs CHA 99-112 — CHI notes
CHI lost 99-112. CHI shot 45% (39 of 87) to CHA's 43%, 11 of 41 from three, and got to the line 14 times to CHA's 23. Vučević led with 28 (11 of 15, 3 of 4 from three); Buzelis added 17, Dosunmu 16. Q1 was theirs, 39-27, but the other 3 periods went 85-60 against them. They led by as many as 15. Phillips's -15 in 15 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/05 @ BOS 101-115 — CHI notes
CHI lost 101-115. CHI shot 44% (38 of 86) to BOS's 40%, 16 of 46 from three. Buzelis led with 26 (9 of 12, 3 of 4 from three, 5 of 6 at the line); Vučević added 15, Dosunmu 15. Q4 was theirs, 34-30, the deficit cut from 18 to 14, but the other 3 periods went 85-67 against them. Huerter's -12 in 20 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/07 @ DET — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Detroit comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 107, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; Cunningham at 28 and Duren at 15 a game. It has won the glass by 4 a night. Without Harris (3 straight), Duren (2 straight), LeVert (4 straight). One day's rest. Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 119, shooting 46 percent and 33 from three, 18 free throws a game; Vučević at 20 and Buzelis at 19 a game. Without Giddey (4 straight), Collins (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Detroit wins, and the game turns on the defense, Detroit allowing 107 a night to Chicago's 119 and the turnovers, Detroit giving it away 16 times a game to Chicago's 11. Call it Detroit 120, Chicago 111.
1/10 vs DAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 17 free throws a game; Buzelis at 21 and Vučević at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Giddey (5 straight), Smith (2 straight), Collins (6 straight). 2 days' rest. Dallas comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 111 a night and allowing 113, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 19 free throws a game; Davis at 20 and Christie at 19 a game. Without Washington (2 straight), Russell (5 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the turnovers, Dallas giving it away 15 times a game to Chicago's 12. Call it Chicago 115, Dallas 114, Dallas keeping it close.
1/13 @ HOU — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Houston comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 102 a night and allowing 106, shooting 41 percent and 23 from three, 24 free throws a game; Durant at 30 and Thompson at 23 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has won the glass by 9 a night. One day's rest. Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 111, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 13 free throws a game; Buzelis at 20 and Vučević at 19 a game. Without Giddey (6 straight), Collins (7 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Houston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Chicago at 33 percent from three to Houston's 23 and the line, where Houston takes 24 free throws a game to Chicago's 13. Call it Houston 114, Chicago 110, Chicago keeping it close.
1/14 vs UTA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 112, shooting 45 percent and 33 from three, 14 free throws a game; Buzelis at 19 and Vučević at 18 a game. Without Giddey (7 straight), Collins (8 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Utah comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 128, shooting 46 percent and 34 from three, 20 free throws a game; Markkanen at 28 and George at 19 a game. Without Kessler (34 straight), Harkless (25 straight), Tshiebwe (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the defense, Chicago allowing 112 a night to Utah's 128 and the line, where Utah takes 20 free throws a game to Chicago's 14. Call it Chicago 120, Utah 117, Utah keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
BOSAS A. Simons
BS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
GO Gonzalez
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
CHIAD A. Dosunmu
CW C. White
DT D. Terry
IO I. Okoro
JC J. Carter
JP J. Phillips
KH K. Huerter
LO L. Olbrich
MB M. Buzelis
NV N. Vučević
PW P. Williams
TJ T. Jones
VU Vucevic
BOS/CHI the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Simons scores 27 points, Pritchard adds 21 as Celtics cruise past Bulls 115-101
BOSTON -- — Anfernee Simons scored 27 points, Payton Pritchard had 21 and the Boston Celtics held the Chicago Bulls to 33 points in the opening half of a 115-101 victory on Monday night.
Neemias Queta added 13 points and 13 rebounds for Boston, which won its fourth straight game and for the eighth time in nine games.
Jaylen Brown was held to 14 points on 6-of-24 shooting, one game after tying his career-high with 50 points in a victory at the Los Angeles Clippers on Saturday.
Matas Buzelis scored 26 to lead the Bulls, who were nearly held under 100 points in their second straight loss after falling at home against Charlotte on Saturday.
The Celtics led by 21 points at halftime and weren’t threatened by the cold-shooting Bulls until a modest charge in the closing five minutes. Chicago was missing leading leading scorer, Josh Giddey , (hamstring).
The Bulls cut it to 106-96 on Nikola Vucevic’s 3-pointer with 3:34 to play. Chicago didn’t reach the 100-point mark until just over a minute left.
Boston led by 17 at the end of one quarter and despite shooting only 32.7% late in the second quarter pushed its advantage to 49-27 on Brown’s short jumper in the lane.
Pritchard hit a fadeaway 3 at the buzzer, making it 54-33 at halftime.
The Bulls were threatening a team-record low points for a half (23, set against Miami on April 10, 1999) before Jevon Carter hit a pair of late 3s. Chicago missed 20 of its first 23 attempts from beyond the arc. Boston wasn’t much better, making only 5 of its first 19.
It was the fewest points the Celtics had allowed in a first half this season.
Up next Bulls: At Detroit on Wednesday.
Celtics: Host Denver on Wednesday in the second of a four-game homestand.