Celtics Defeat Bulls 125-111 to Start NBA Cup Campaign

The Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 125-111 on Friday night at TD Garden.

The victory marks the start of Group Play for the 2026 NBA Cup tournament.

Boston improved to 1-0 in Group C standings and secured a 14-point margin of victory.

Point differential serves as the second tiebreaker in the tournament after head-to-head results.

A double-digit win may prove advantageous for Boston in future tiebreaker scenarios.

Payton Pritchard led the Celtics with 30 points in 34 minutes of play.

The bench player has now scored 62 points in two games against Chicago this season.

Jayson Tatum recorded 26 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.

Paul George contributed 18 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and three steals.

The Celtics shot 51 percent from the field, making 42 of 82 attempts.

Boston missed 22 of 32 three-point attempts, shooting 31 percent from deep.

The Celtics outscored Chicago 59-40 on bench scoring and 58-40 in the paint area of the court. Boston forced 16 turnovers and recorded 28 assists in the game. Chicago shot 38 percent from the field, making 35 of 93 shots, and 30 percent from three-point range. The Bulls were led by rookie forward Caleb Wilson, who scored 23 points. Wilson, the No. 4 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, made six of his 11 three-point attempts. Boston led by 30 points at one point during the game but allowed Chicago to close the gap in the second half. The Celtics finished a four-game winning streak that followed a season-opening loss. They also defeated the Bulls 134-99 on Monday. The team will play the Orlando Magic on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Boston. Their next NBA Cup game is on Nov. 6 against the Charlotte Hornets. Pritchard moved into 12th place on the TD Garden all-time scoring list with 24 points in the fourth quarter. He passed Isaiah Thomas and now trails Avery Bradley by 62 points for the top-10 spot. The Celtics will face the Bulls again on Dec. 30 and March 9 in Chicago.