Chicago Bulls stun Boston Celtics while LeBron James sets NBA minutes-played record

BOSTON – Do not write off the Chicago Bulls – that was the message from Zach LaVine, after he scored a season-high 36 points to lead his team to a 117-108 upset of defending NBA champions Boston Celtics on Dec 19.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, meanwhile, once again made National Basketball Association (NBA) history.

The story of the day, however, was at the TD Garden.

LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 for the season.

“We’re a good team,” he said. “We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group. We’re better than what people predicted we will be.

“Obviously, you can lose to anybody in this league, but if we go out there and play like we did, we could beat anybody.”

Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for Chicago, while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds.

The Bulls outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter to outplay the Celtics, who had 31 points and 10 rebounds from Jayson Tatum, 20 points from Kristaps Porzingis and 19 from Jaylen Brown in a losing cause as they fell to 21-6.

“We played our normal game tonight,” Tatum said. “We just didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well as we normally do.”

The Bulls had a 99-96 lead when Boston coach Joe Mazzulla and Brown each received a technical foul. LaVine made two free throws and then connected on a three-pointer that put the Bulls in front 104-96 with 5min 2sec to go.

Another LaVine free throw following a technical foul on Tatum gave Chicago their first double-digit lead, 108-98, with 3:10 remaining, and Boston failed to get closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Elsewhere, James broke the NBA all-time minutes played record that had belonged to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he was on the court for his 57,447th minute of NBA competition in helping the Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 113-100.

James, who passed Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA all-time scoring record earlier in 2024, scored 19 points while Austin Reaves had 25 points and Anthony Davis added 21 points and 19 rebounds for the away side.

“It’s just a commitment to the craft and to the passion and love I have for the game,” James said. “I don’t take much time in the off-season, a little bit more time now.”

In other games, French star Victor Wembanyama scored 42 points to power the San Antonio Spurs to a 133-126 overtime triumph over the visiting Atlanta Hawks.

De’Andre Hunter, who led the Hawks with 27 points off the bench, slammed in a dunk with 11 seconds left to level proceedings at 120-120 and force overtime, when Wembanyama had a dunk and two three-pointers to outscore Atlanta on his own.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 35 points to spark the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-99 triumph at Orlando. Anthony Black led the Magic with 23 points off the bench.

The Memphis Grizzlies routed the visiting Golden State Warriors 144-93 but lost guard Ja Morant to back soreness following a fall after just 18 minutes.

Spanish forward Santi Aldama had 21 points and 14 rebounds off the bench to lead the Grizzlies, who made a club-record 27 three-pointers in 48 attempts – Aldama and Luke Kennard each hitting five to lead the way.

New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, given an ovation by fans on his return from Minnesota after being traded away, scored 32 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to spark the Knicks over the hosts Timberwolves 133-107.

“I’m just happy I was able to have the game I had,” Towns said. “I’m just happy our team could get a win.

“I called this place home for nine seasons. This place means a lot to me... I didn’t want to let my emotions overcome the game. I wasn’t playing for myself. I was playing for the win.” AFP, REUTERS