Pritchard scores 30 as Celtics roll past Bulls 125-111 in NBA Cup opener

Payton Pritchard scored 30 points off the bench and the Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 125-111 on Friday night at TD Garden in the opener of NBA Cup group play for both teams, according to The Associated Press.

Boston has won four in a row since a season-opening loss at Detroit and improved to 4-1, all four wins at home. Chicago fell to 1-5 with its fourth straight loss, the AP reported. It was the second meeting in five days: Boston won 134-99 on Monday.

How it happened

The Celtics broke the game open in the first quarter, turning a 9-6 deficit into a 35-18 lead with a 29-9 run and taking a 44-25 lead after one, according to The Ticket's game story. Boston led by as many as 32 and went to halftime ahead 78-49, with Pritchard scoring 20 in the first half.

Chicago won the second half but never got closer than 14, MassLive reported.

Box score highlights

Boston scored 56 points in the paint and turned 16 Chicago turnovers into 21 points, the AP reported. The Bulls shot 38% from the floor and made 15 of 50 3-point tries.

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