Three studs, three duds as the Celtics defeat the Bulls with a revenge win

The Boston Celtics headed to the Windy City with one thing on their minds before Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls: revenge.

Boston fell short in Thursday night’s meeting at TD Garden against Chicago, converting back-to-back technical fouls against head coach Joe Mazzulla and star Jaylen Brown into a game-losing 18-12 run by the Bulls in the fourth quarter. Mazzulla and Brown expressed their frustration with the officiating, which resulted in a $35,000 fine for Mazzulla and gave the team plenty of motivation.

That fuel sparked an overwhelming response from Jayson Tatum and the Celtics, who used some much-needed comeback effort to improve to 22-6.

Here are three guys and three duds from Boston’s 123-98 revenge win over Chicago:

SUPPORT
Jayson Tatum
Tatum addressed Magic Johnson’s recent comments about the 2017 draft and explained why the Lakers gave up on the five-time All-Star just hours before game time. And throughout the night, Tatum reminded Los Angeles of its defeat by recording his first triple-double of the season, scoring a season-high 43 points with 15 rebounds and 10 assists. Tatum shot 16-for-24 from the field and sank nine 3-pointers, putting on a clinic.

Boston’s star turned a manageable five-point Celtics deficit to the Bulls into a double-digit deficit that had everyone in the United Center packing early.

Boston’s inner rim protector
The Celtics felt humbled on Thursday night after relying too heavily on the 3-point line and outrunning the Bulls on their redemption shot. Boston totaled 10 offensive rebounds by halftime before finishing the game with 16 to Chicago’s 10. Luke Kornet led the offense on that front, recording a team-leading six offensive rebounds – eight total – in 19 minutes off the bench, giving the Celtics a lead four additional scoring opportunities.

Kristaps Porzingis
Boston’s 7-footer was solid from start to finish as Porzingis scored 22 points on 8 of 15 shooting from the floor with six rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Porzingis was the overshadowed cheat code, tearing through Chicago’s offense on offense while causing trouble for the Bulls to score on the other end, easing any concerns about the 29-year-old’s recent heel injury.

Idiots
Derrick White
It was a tough shooting night for White, as the 30-year-old went 3 of 12 from the field and missed all six of his 3-point attempts. White didn’t get going for 26 minutes, scoring a modest eight points along with four rebounds and one assist.

Zach LaVine
The Celtics were dragged through the dirt defending LaVine in their home territory, but the two-time All-Star couldn’t continue in Chicago. LaVine had just 14 points on 4 of 11 shooting with four rebounds and four assists and finished at minus-12 in the loss.

Coby White
Chicago’s guard also had a difficult time scoring, as White also only scored 14 points. The North Carolina product shot 5 of 14 from the floor, missed six 3-point attempts, grabbed zero rebounds and led the Bulls with three turnovers.