Game ID: 22500647
Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls
Saturday, January 24, 2026 at 8:00 PM ET
United Center, Chicago, IL
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
CHI 30 22 36 26 114BOS 28 30 27 26 111
BOS @ CHI ScoutingBOS @ 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.
CHI availability going into 1/16 · 1 day's restOUT Giddey missed 8 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 9 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Carter missed 2 since 1/13, out tonight
BACK White back 1/05 after 3, 28 min since (96% of 29)
BACK Smith back 1/10 after 2, 23 min since (112% of 21)
CHI availability going into 1/18 · 1 day's restOUT Giddey missed 9 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 10 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Carter missed 3 since 1/13, returns tonight: 3 min (25% of 11)
BACK Smith back 1/10 after 2, 26 min since (127% of 21)
CHI availability going into 1/20 · 1 day's restOUT Giddey missed 10 since 12/31, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 11 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Smith back 1/10 after 2, 27 min since (131% of 21)
BACK Carter back 1/18 after 3, 3 min since (25% of 11)
CHI availability going into 1/22 · 1 day's restOUT Giddey missed 11 since 12/31, returns tonight: 26 min (81% of 32)
OUT Williams missed 2 since 1/18, returns tonight: 16 min (77% of 20)
OUT Collins missed 12 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Carter back 1/18 after 3, 3 min since (29% of 11)
NEW Smith 21 to 29 min over the last 5
CHI availability going into 1/24 · 1 day's restOUT Collins missed 13 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Giddey back 1/22 after 11, 26 min since (81% of 32)
BACK Williams back 1/22 after 2, 16 min since (77% of 20)
BACK Carter back 1/18 after 3, 3 min since (29% of 11)
NEW Smith 21 to 27 min over the last 5
CHI availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Collins missed 14 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Carter missed 2 since 1/22, returns tonight: 1 min (7% of 11)
OUT Terry missed 2 since 1/22, returns tonight: 3 min (27% of 11)
BACK Giddey back 1/22 after 11, 25 min since (77% of 32)
BACK Williams back 1/22 after 2, 16 min since (78% of 20)
NEW Smith 21 to 29 min over the last 5
CHI availability going into 1/28 · 1 day's restOUT Jones missed 2 since 1/24, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 15 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Giddey back 1/22 after 11, 26 min since (81% of 32)
BACK Williams back 1/22 after 2, 15 min since (71% of 20)
BACK Carter back 1/18 after 3, 2 min since (22% of 11)
BACK Terry back 1/26 after 2, 3 min since (27% of 11)
NEW Smith 21 to 29 min over the last 5
CHI availability going into 1/29 · back-to-backOUT Jones missed 3 since 1/24, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 16 since 12/29, out tonight
BACK Giddey back 1/22 after 11, 27 min since (83% of 32)
BACK Williams back 1/22 after 2, 15 min since (74% of 20)
BACK Carter back 1/26 after 2, 1 min since (7% of 11)
BACK Terry back 1/26 after 2, 3 min since (29% of 11)
NEW Smith 21 to 28 min over the last 5
CHI availability going into 1/31 · 1 day's restOUT Jones missed 4 since 1/24, out tonight
OUT Collins missed 17 since 12/29, out tonight
OUT Carter missed 2 since 1/28, returns tonight: 20 min (181% of 11)
BACK Giddey back 1/22 after 11, 27 min since (83% of 32)
BACK Williams back 1/22 after 2, 15 min since (71% of 20)
BACK Terry back 1/26 after 2, 7 min since (64% of 11)
NEW Smith 21 to 27 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/17 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 6 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 23 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Hauser 25 to 31 min over the last 4
NEW Garza 16 to 22 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/19 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 7 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 24 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Hauser 25 to 31 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 1/21 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 8 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 25 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Hauser 25 to 30 min over the last 4
BOS availability going into 1/23 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 9 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 26 since 11/26, out tonight
BOS availability going into 1/24 · back-to-backOUT Minott missed 10 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 27 since 11/26, out tonight
NEW Hauser 25 to 31 min over the last 5
BOS availability going into 1/26 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 11 since 1/05, out tonight
OUT Boucher missed 28 since 11/26, out tonight
BOS availability going into 1/28 · 1 day's restOUT Minott missed 12 since 1/05, returns tonight: 5 min (30% of 16)
OUT Boucher missed 29 since 11/26, out tonight
BOS availability going into 1/30 · 1 day's restOUT Boucher missed 30 since 11/26, returns tonight: 4 min (33% of 10)
BACK Minott back 1/28 after 12, 5 min since (30% of 16)
BOS availability going into 2/01 · 1 day's restBACK Minott back 1/28 after 12, 3 min since (22% of 16)
BACK Boucher back 1/30 after 30, 4 min since (33% of 10)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 113, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 19 free throws a game; Vučević at 20 and White at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Collins (13 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 24 free throws a game; Brown at 31 and Hauser at 20 a game. Without Minott (10 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the arc, Chicago at 43 percent from three to Boston's 38 and the turnovers, Boston giving it away 13 times a game to Chicago's 10. Call it Chicago 118, Boston 115, Boston keeping it close.
1/16 @ BKN 109-112 — CHI notes
CHI lost 109-112. CHI shot 48% (41 of 86) to BKN's 43%, 11 of 35 from three. CHI turned it over 7 times to BKN's 14. Vučević led with 19 (9 of 14, 1 of 3 from three); Dosunmu added 18, White 17. Q4 was theirs, 37-23, the deficit cut from 17 to 3, but the other 3 periods went 89-72 against them.
1/18 vs BKN 124-102 — CHI notes
CHI won 124-102. CHI shot 52% (49 of 94) to BKN's 46%, 20 of 46 from three, and got to the line 9 times to BKN's 15. White led with 24 (8 of 14, 7 of 11 from three); Dosunmu added 19, Vučević 17. The hinge was Q1, 39-22: from level to 17 ahead, and the lead reached 27. Dosunmu was the night's best plus/minus at +22.
1/20 vs LAC 138-110 — CHI notes
CHI won 138-110. CHI shot 57% (52 of 92) to LAC's 47%, 25 of 47 from three. White led with 27 (9 of 16, 6 of 10 from three); Buzelis added 21, Vučević 19. The hinge was Q2, 45-19: CHI came in trailing by 5 and left it ahead by 21, and the lead reached 31. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +32.
1/22 @ MIN 120-115 — CHI notes
CHI won 120-115. CHI shot 44% (38 of 86) to MIN's 46%, 17 of 39 from three, and went to the line 33 times to MIN's 15 — 27 points from the stripe to their 14. White led with 22 (6 of 16, 3 of 10 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); Giddey added 21, Smith 17. The hinge was Q2, 34-29: the deficit went from 6 to 1. CHI trailed 60-61 at the half and won the second half 60-54. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
1/24 vs BOS 114-111 — CHI notes
CHI won 114-111. CHI shot 51% (43 of 85) to BOS's 44%, 21 of 45 from three. CHI turned it over 15 times to BOS's 6, and BOS turned those into 10 steals. White led with 22 (6 of 16, 5 of 9 from three); Vučević added 16, Buzelis 14. The hinge was Q3, 36-27: CHI came in trailing by 6 and left it ahead by 3. CHI trailed 52-58 at the half and won the second half 62-53. Buzelis was the night's best plus/minus at +15.
1/26 vs LAL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 44 from three, 16 free throws a game; White at 22 and Vučević at 16 a game. That is 4 straight wins. Without Collins (14 straight). One day's rest. The Lakers come in 3-2 over their last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 111, shooting 48 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Dončić at 32 and James at 21 a game. Without Reaves (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the line, where the Lakers take 23 free throws a game to Chicago's 16 and the arc, Chicago at 44 percent from three to the Lakers' 39. Call it Chicago 118, the Lakers 113.
1/28 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 104 a night and allowing 120, shooting 43 percent and 32 from three, 22 free throws a game; Siakam at 26 and Nembhard at 17 a game. Without Toppin (44 straight). One day's rest. Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 113, shooting 51 percent and 45 from three, 16 free throws a game; White at 24 and Vučević at 16 a game. Without Jones (2 straight), Collins (15 straight). One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, on the road, and the game turns on the arc, Chicago at 45 percent from three to Indiana's 32 and the turnovers, Indiana giving it away 17 times a game to Chicago's 12. Call it Chicago 119, Indiana 113.
1/29 vs MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 120 a night and allowing 116, shooting 50 percent and 44 from three, 18 free throws a game; White at 22 and Vučević at 18 a game. Without Jones (3 straight), Collins (16 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 124 a night and allowing 119, shooting 46 percent and 36 from three, 27 free throws a game; Adebayo at 25 and Powell at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Herro (7 straight), Mitchell (4 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the arc, Chicago at 44 percent from three to Miami's 36 and the line, where Miami takes 27 free throws a game to Chicago's 18. Call it Chicago 120, Miami 119, Miami keeping it close.
1/31 @ MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 118, shooting 45 percent and 32 from three, 27 free throws a game; Adebayo at 24 and Powell at 18 a game. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Without Herro (8 straight), Mitchell (5 straight). One day's rest. Chicago comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 117, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 21 free throws a game; White at 19 and Vučević at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Jones (4 straight), Collins (17 straight). One day's rest.
So: Miami wins, and the game turns on the arc, Chicago at 41 percent from three to Miami's 32 and the line, where Miami takes 27 free throws a game to Chicago's 21. Call it Miami 121, Chicago 116.
1/17 @ ATL 132-106 — BOS notes
BOS won 132-106. BOS shot 51% (46 of 91) to ATL's 37%, 22 of 52 from three. BOS turned it over 16 times to ATL's 11, and ATL turned those into 10 steals. Brown led with 41 (14 of 30, 2 of 9 from three, 11 of 12 at the line); Hauser added 30, Queta 14. The hinge was Q2, 52-28: a lead of 7 became 31, and the lead reached 43. Queta was the night's best plus/minus at +39.
1/19 @ DET 103-104 — BOS notes
BOS lost 103-104. BOS shot 40% (33 of 83) to DET's 43%, 13 of 41 from three, and went to the line 30 times to DET's 23 — 24 points from the stripe to their 17. BOS turned it over 14 times to DET's 8, and DET turned those into 9 steals. Brown led with 32 (11 of 28, 2 of 8 from three, 8 of 10 at the line); Pritchard added 17, Hauser 16. Q3 was theirs, 31-25, the deficit cut from 8 to 2, but the other 3 periods went 79-72 against them. Simons's -13 in 25 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/21 vs IND 119-104 — BOS notes
BOS won 119-104. BOS shot 48% (42 of 88) to IND's 39%, 12 of 31 from three. The glass went 54-42 for them. Brown led with 30 (11 of 22, 7 of 9 at the line); Queta added 17, Hauser 17. The hinge was Q1, 30-20: from level to 10 ahead, and the lead reached 23. Pritchard was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
1/23 @ BKN 130-126 — BOS notes
BOS won 130-126 in 2 overtimes. BOS shot 45% (49 of 109) to BKN's 44%, 22 of 51 from three, and got to the line 16 times to BKN's 34. BOS turned it over 8 times to BKN's 17. The glass went 41-58 against them. Pritchard led with 32 (13 of 24, 6 of 11 from three); Brown added 27, Hauser 19. The hinge was OT2, 12-8: from level to 4 ahead. BOS trailed 49-55 at the half and won the second half 81-71. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
1/24 @ CHI 111-114 — BOS notes
BOS lost 111-114. BOS took 14 more shots (99 to 85), but shot 44% to CHI's 51%, 15 of 47 from three. BOS turned it over 6 times to CHI's 15. Brown led with 33 (14 of 28, 2 of 8 from three); Simons added 21, D. White 15. Q2 was theirs, 30-22, turning a 2-point deficit into a 6-point lead, but the other 3 periods went 92-81 against them. Brown's -13 in 37 minutes was the worst on the floor.
1/26 vs POR — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 119 a night and allowing 111, shooting 46 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 33 and Hauser at 18 a game. Without Minott (11 straight). One day's rest. Portland comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 109, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 23 free throws a game; Sharpe at 25 and Grant at 14 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Henderson (46 straight), Murray (9 straight), Thybulle (41 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Portland has been plus-8 a night and Boston plus-0 and the arc, Boston at 38 percent from three to Portland's 33. Call it Boston 117, Portland 113, Portland keeping it close.
1/28 vs ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 108, shooting 44 percent and 37 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brown at 28 and Pritchard at 18 a game. Without Minott (12 straight). One day's rest. Atlanta comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 116 a night and allowing 117, shooting 45 percent and 39 from three, 20 free throws a game; Johnson at 22 and Alexander-Walker at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. Without Risacher (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 108 a night to Atlanta's 117. Call it Boston 118, Atlanta 111.
1/30 vs SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 111, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 17 free throws a game; Brown at 26 and Pritchard at 17 a game. One day's rest. Sacramento comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 120, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 22 free throws a game; DeRozan at 21 and Monk at 17 a game. That is 5 straight losses. Without Murray (13 straight), Plowden (37 straight), Monk (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 111 a night to Sacramento's 120 and the line, where Sacramento takes 22 free throws a game to Boston's 17. Call it Boston 120, Sacramento 108, Boston by 12.
2/01 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 112 a night and allowing 109, shooting 45 percent and 36 from three, 15 free throws a game; Brown at 25 and Pritchard at 21 a game. One day's rest. Milwaukee comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 116, shooting 46 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Turner at 21 and Gia. Antetokounmpo at 21 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 6 a night. Without Porter Jr. (4 straight), Gia. Antetokounmpo (2 straight), Prince (38 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 109 a night to Milwaukee's 116. Call it Boston 116, Milwaukee 109.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
CHIAD A. Dosunmu
CW C. White
IO I. Okoro
JG J. Giddey
JS J. Smith
KH K. Huerter
MB M. Buzelis
NV N. Vučević
PW P. Williams
VU Vucevic
BOSAS A. Simons
AW A. Williams
BS B. Scheierman
DW D. White
HG H. González
JB J. Brown
JW J. Walsh
LG L. Garza
NQ N. Queta
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
CHI/BOS 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
Kevin Huerter's buzzer-beater lifts Bulls past Celtics before Derrick Rose's jersey retirement
CHICAGO -- — Kevin Huerter made a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, lifting the Chicago Bulls past the Boston Celtics 114-111 before retiring Derrick Rose’s jersey number on Saturday night.
Coby White scored 22 points and hit five of Chicago’s 21 3s, helping the Bulls win their fourth straight.
Rose entered rarified air after the game when the Bulls sent his No. 1 to the rafters, putting the Chicago product alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen , Jerry Sloan and Bob Love as the only players with numbers retired by the team.
The Bulls gave their crowd plenty to cheer before they honored the South Side product and former MVP by squeezing out a win over the Eastern Conference’s second-place team, even though Jaylen Brown scored 33 for Boston.
Chicago led 111-109 when White missed a driving layup and Smith missed the putback with 20 seconds remaining. Brown got the rebound and drove for a layup to tie it with 14 seconds left.
The Bulls called a timeout and worked the ball to Huerter, who nailed a 3 from the corner with less than a second remaining. Huerter arrived at United Center wearing a No. 1 jersey in honor of Rose.
Nikola Vucevic scored 16 for Chicago, and Smith and Matas Buzelis added 14 points apiece.
Anfernee Simmons finished with 21 points for Boston. Derrick White added 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Up next Celtics: Host Portland on Monday.
Bulls: Host Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. ------ AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA