BOSTON -- Jayson Tatum scored 32 points, Jaylen Brown added 19 as the Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 107-99 Monday night and reached the midway point of their season with the NBA's best record.
Grant Williams added 20 points and Al Horford had seven rebounds and eight points, including a clutch 3-pointer with 24 seconds to play that helped seal the win for the defending Eastern Conference champions, who are 29-12 after the first 41 games.
Malcolm Brogdon scored 20 points for Boston, which played without injured point guard Marcus Smart.
Zach LaVine led Chicago with 27 points, scoring 15 in the fourth quarter while leading the Bulls' furious comeback bid. Chicago, which had won three straight, lost DeMar DeRozan in the third quarter with a strained right quadriceps.
Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago. DeRozan finished with 13 points in 23 minutes.
A 3-pointer by LaVine pulled Chicago within 99-97 late in the fourth, but the comeback stalled when he missed a jumper in the final minute and the Celtics got the rebound to Tatum, who dribbled about 20 seconds off the clock before getting the ball to Horford for a 3-pointer. Horford's shot bounced off the rim, then found its way through for a 104-99 lead with 24 seconds left.
LaVine missed again for the Bulls and Tatum broke free for a two-handed dunk, drawing a foul and converting the free throw to seal it with 12 seconds remaining.
Down 11 points entering the fourth quarter, a layup by LaVine pulled Chicago within 89-84. But the Celtics answered the surge with Brown's back-to-back jumpers and a three-point play by Williams.
The Celtics led 59-50 at halftime, matching their largest lead of the game after the Bulls committed three of their six turnovers in the final few minutes and the Celtics capitalized with a 9-2 run to close the period.
TIP-INS
Bulls: G Alex Caruso returned in the first quarter after missing the last two games with a sprained right ankle. He finished with six points .... G Javonte Green (right knee soreness) and C Tony Bradley (health and safety protocols) did not play.
Celtics: Tatum had 10 points midway through the first quarter and scored 12 of Boston's 28 points in the opening the period. He finished the game with seven assists and eight rebounds. ... Smart left in the third quarter Saturday in a win at San Antonio after bumping knees with Zach Collins. Boston coach Joe Mazulla said Smart's knee was still sore Monday morning and he was considered day to day after being ruled out for Monday's game.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Visit Washington on Wednesday night.
Celtics: Host New Orleans on Wednesday night.
Bucks 111, Knicks 105
NEW YORK -- Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points and 10 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks used 3-point shooting to wipe out a 17-point deficit in the second half and beat the New York Knicks 111-105 on Monday night.
Joe Ingles added a season-high 17 points and Brook Lopez also scored 17 for the Bucks, who made 12 3-pointers after falling behind 70-53 with five minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Lopez made one that snapped a 97-all tie before Jrue Holiday -- forced to the bench after committing three fouls in the first 4 1/2 minutes -- scored five straight Milwaukee points before the Bucks closed it out at the free throw line to snap the Knicks' four-game winning streak.
Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 44 points for the Knicks, adding seven assists. Julius Randle had 25 points, 16 rebounds and five assists, but was just 1 for 12 from 3-point range.
The Knicks were hoping to continue streaking to the midpoint of their schedule, having followed an eight-game winning streak and a five-game skid with four straight victories. They fell to 22-19.
Ingles, who didn't play for the Bucks until last month after missing the first 29 games recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee, helped fuel the comeback with five 3-pointers.
Randle finally made a 3-pointer after an 0-for-9 first half on the first possession of the third quarter, and his free throws capped a 13-2 spurt midway through the period that extended a six-point lead to 70-53.
The Knicks still led by 16 after Randle's three-point play with 2:25 remaining, but didn't make another basket in the quarter as Milwaukee closed with a 13-2 run of its own to trim it to 78-73.
Obi Toppin opened the fourth with a 3-pointer, but Lopez, Grayson Allen and Ingles followed with three in a row for Milwaukee to give the Bucks an 82-81 lead.
Neither team led by more than three again until Holiday's 3-pointer made it 103-99 with 47 seconds to play.
Brunson's aggressive start quickly put Holiday in foul trouble, forcing him to the bench within 4 1/2 minutes. But the Bucks' big men were much more effective defending Randle, who was 1 for 12, missing all eight 3-point attempts.
Brunson was just 1 for 6 in the second, but Immanuel Quickley stepped up with 13 points as the Knicks took a 51-46 lead to the break.
TIP-INS
Bucks: Khris Middleton missed his 12th straight game. ... Coach Mike Budenholzer said F/C Serge Ibaka, not with the team for personal reasons, would not rejoin the Bucks during the road trip.
Knicks: Coach Tom Thibodeau said F RJ Barrett, who has missed six games with a lacerated finger on his right hand, is "real close" to returning and the Knicks would see how he progresses Tuesday. Toppin played for the first time since Dec. 7 and scored three points. He had been inactive for 13 games with nondisplaced fracture of his right fibula, then didn't play in either of the first two games after he was cleared to return.
UP NEXT
Bucks: At Atlanta on Wednesday.
Knicks: Host Indiana on Wednesday.
Pelicans 132, Wizards 112
WASHINGTON -- CJ McCollum scored 34 points, Jonas Valanciunas added 27 points and 12 rebounds as the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Washington Wizards 132-112 on Monday night.
New Orleans (25-16), which had lost four of five, took the lead early in the second quarter and put the game away when it scored the first 15 points of the fourth quarter to take a 115-88 lead with 8:44 to play.
Washington (17-24) has lost three straight and was missing leading scorer Bradley Beal, who didn't play for the fifth time in six games with a strained left hamstring.
Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Kyle Kuzma scored 19 points before fouling out with 9:03 to play. In the second quarter, he was assessed a technical foul, and when Kuzma was called for his sixth foul, he marched off the court and walked into Washington's locker room.
New Orleans was without its leading scorer, Zion Williamson, who missed his fourth straight game with a strained right hamstring.
The Pelicans, who fell behind 10-0 in the first two minutes, took a timeout just 1:44 into the game, and quickly caught up thanks to McCollum, who scored 12 straight points in a 2:36 span of the first quarter.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: F Brandon Ingram, who hasn't played since Nov. 25 due to a bruised left toe, is closer to a return to action, but needs more work, according to coach Willie Green. "He hasn't had a full practice yet. We're hopeful that sometime on this trip, he can get a full practice in." ... G/F Herb Jones suffered a bruised lower back in the second quarter and didn't return. ... Broke a nine-game losing streak in Washington. ... F Naji Marshall scored 18 points
Wizards: G Johnny Davis, who has spent much of the season on assignment with the G League, is out with a strained right hip. Coach Wes Unseld Jr. thinks he could return within the next week.
UP NEXT
Pelicans: At Boston on Wednesday.
Wizards: Host Chicago on Wednesday.
Chicago Bulls guard Zach LaVine (8) drives to the basket past Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics center Al Horford, right, knocks the ball away from Chicago Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan drives to the basket against the Boston Celtics during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon (13) passes the ball while pressured by Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) is surrounded by Chicago Bulls on a drive to the basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)