DeRozan scores 37 as Bulls beat Celtics 128-114 to reach 6-1
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DeMar DeRozan scored 37 points and the Chicago Bulls rallied from a 19-point, second-half deficit on Monday night to beat the Boston Celtics 128-114 and improve to 6-1 for the season.
Zach LaVine scored 26 points and Nikola Vucevic had 11 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Bulls, who outscored Boston 39-11 in the fourth quarter to turn a 14-point lead into a 14-point victory.
"It was very gratifying to see we kept the fight," DeRozan said. "We were down big on the road, tough place to play, we didn't get rattled."
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Jaylen Brown scored 28 for the Celtics, who have lost three in a row and left their home court to boos. Al Horford had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum scored 20 for Boston.
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"We got up, got comfortable, got a little bit too cute thinking the game was over in the third quarter," said Celtics coach Ime Udoka, who fell to 2-5 in his first season at the helm. "We started celebrating early. It’s a good lesson learned: You mess with the game, it will come back to bite you."
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The Celtics led 94-75 with about three minutes left in the third quarter and still had a 103-89 lead entering the fourth. But Chicago scored the first 12 points in the fourth to cut the deficit to two points, 103-101, with just over 8 minutes left.
Ayo Dosunmu, a second-round draft pick who had his first double-digit NBA game with 14 points, hit a 3-pointer with 6:53 left to put the Bulls up 106-105. The Celtics briefly retook the lead before Chicago scored 18 of the next 20 points.
Tatum scored two points on 1-for-8 shooting in the fourth quarter, and Brown was scoreless on just two shots.
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"We’re running plays for our best players. Every team knows that. They do a good job of shutting that down," Celtics guard Marcus Smart said. "We can’t allow that."
The Celtics led 35-31 near the end of the first quarter before DeRozan ran off nine straight points, scoring 11 during a 15-0 run that gave Chicago a 46-35 lead. But Brown scored the next 10 on his own — hitting back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a one-point game.
After Dosunmu’s layup, Brown hit another 3, then Smart made one of his own and the Celtics made it an eight-point lead at halftime.
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TIP-INS
The Celtics' Marcus Smart appeared to hurt his leg during the third quarter but gave a thumbs-up to the bench and remained in the game. ... Boston's Robert Williams limped off the court and straight to the locker room after a collision in the third quarter. He returned to the bench for the start of the fourth, and the team said he tweaked his hip.
UP NEXT
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Bulls: Visit Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
Celtics: Play at Orlando on Wednesday night.