BOSTON — The Boston Celtics began NBA Cup group play with a victory, holding off the Chicago Bulls in the second half to secure a 125-111 win at TD Garden on Friday night. Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum contributed 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists in 34 minutes while point guard Payton Pritchard added a game-high 30 points (with a career-high 9 attempts from the charity stripe) in almost 35 minutes off the bench.

Boston was bullying Chicago in the first half and held a 78-49 lead at halftime. It was only 4 points away from tying its highest-scoring first half in franchise history. From there, things slowed down for the C's, as they shot just 36 percent from the floor after converting on 63 percent of their field goal attempts in the first half.

Although point differential matters in NBA Cup matchups, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla had no problem subbing in his bench guys about halfway through the fourth quarter. The Green Team's starters were largely effective, with first-year Celtics Paul George and Mitchell Robinson scoring 18 points and 11 points apiece.

The Celtics are now 1-0 in group play and 4-1 to start the 2026-27 campaign. They defeated the Bulls by double digits two times this week and have won six of their last seven games against their Eastern Conference foes.

Up next for the C's are the undermanned Orlando Magic, who they'll face on the road on Sunday afternoon. Boston's next NBA Cup game takes place on Friday, November 6, when it travels down south for a meeting with the Charlotte Hornets.