Kevin Huerter buried a corner 3-pointer with 0.2 seconds remaining to give the host Chicago Bulls a 114-111 victory over the Boston Celtics on Saturday night.
Coby White made five 3-pointers while registering 22 points and seven assists as the Bulls won their fourth consecutive game. Nikola Vucevic added 16 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
Jalen Smith added 14 points and nine rebounds, Matas Buzelis had 14 points and eight rebounds and Huerter and Isaac Okoro scored 12 points apiece for Chicago.
Jaylen Brown recorded 33 points, eight rebounds and five assists as Boston had a two-game winning streak halted. Anfernee Simons had 21 points and five treys off the bench, Derrick White added 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Payton Pritchard contributed 10 points and seven assists.
Brown’s basket with 2:23 left brought the Celtics within 111-109. Neither team scored again until Brown drove for the tying layup with 14.2 seconds remaining.
The Bulls then moved the ball around for the final shot and Huerter was left unguarded and drained the decisive shot.
There wasn’t enough time for Pritchard to get off his 40-foot attempt and officials waved it off before it bounced off the rim.
Chicago connected on 50.6% of its shots and made 21 of 45 from 3-point range. Ayo Dosunmu and Patrick Williams added 10 points apiece to join Huerter as double-figure scorers off the bench.
Boston made 44.4% of its attempts, including 15 of 47 from behind the arc. The Celtics committed just six turnovers.
The Bulls were 14 of 20 from the field during a 36-point third quarter.
Chicago scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 59-58 lead on a 3-pointer by Smith.
Boston scored eight of the next 10 with Luka Garza’s short floater giving the Celtics a five-point lead with 8:44 remaining.
Chicago scored 12 of the next 18 points, a stretch that ended with consecutive baskets by Okoro as the Bulls led 73-72 with 5:25 to play.
Simons nailed a trey 10 seconds later for the Celtics before White ran off a personal 7-0 spurt with two free throws, a 3-pointer and a layup to give the Bulls an 80-75 lead with 4:11 remaining.
Treys by White and Okoro helped the Bulls take an 88-80 lead before Boston scored the final five of the quarter and Simons opened the fourth with a 3-pointer to tie it at 88.
Buzelis knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Bulls a 109-105 lead with 5:26 remaining.
Brown scored 20 first-half points to help the Celtics hold a 58-52 lead.
–Field Level Media
