By: Rece Allen, Sports Editor 

The Boston Celtics electric first half leads them to a victory over the Chicago Bulls 122-100. Kristaps Porzingis’s explosive first half led to the Celtics to avenge the heartbreaking loss to the Houston Rockets last game in TD Garden. 

Porzingis got off to a hot start by scoring 26 of his 34 points in the first half of the game. He hit a total of eight three-pointers in the game. The crowd roared with more and more excitement as he continued to stay hot from three in the first half. 

Due to Porzingis’s dominance, the Celtics were also able to find their stride as a team. Jaylen Brown would start to play more aggressive, as he would go on to score 28 points in the game. Payton Pritchard was also a key player for the team tonight, facilitating at a high level, by finishing with a team high of seven assists. 

Pritchard stands out as one of the premier sixth men in the league and is a strong favorite to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award. Most fans recognize him as an exciting player who delivers highlight-worthy plays. However, he also provides the ability to be a crafty playmaker. 

“Payton’s influence has been great for us,” Brown said in a post-game interview. “He’s been a spark off the bench. He has shot the ball incredibly well and that’s all credit to his work ethic. It is tough to come off the bench and always ready to go every single night.”

This win for the Celtics helps ease the team’s up and down month, with their record being now 9-6 in January. The Celtics improve their record to 33-15 which lands them as the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

“It’s a journey,” Brown said. “It doesn’t always look like a straight linear line. It’s ups and down, so we just have to navigate that. I feel confident in my teammates, coaches and the front office. We just have to keep building good habits and learning from these experiences and we’ll be okay.”

The Celtics look to use this dominant win as fuel for the team’s three game road trip. They will move on to face the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center on Friday at 8 p.m.

Copy Edited by Rece Allen, Sports Editor