BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard made all five of his 3-point attempts during Boston’s big third quarter and finished with 28 points, to lead the Celtics to a 134-99 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.
Jayson Tatum had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Paul George scored 16 points for Boston (2-1), which outscored the Bulls 39-21 in the third when Prichard scored 19.
Norman Powell led the Bulls (1-3) with 20 points.
Boston never trailed, opening a 16-point lead early in the second, led by 12 at halftime and 30 after three. Tatum had 19 of his points in the first half, including a buzzer-beating drive at the end of the first and long 3-pointer with .8 left in the second.
The Celtics had been off since winning their home opener against the defending champion Knicks on Friday when Tatum carried them with 36 points and during his postgame press conference attempted to play down any possible beef with former teammate Jaylen Brown, who was traded to Philadelphia during the offseason.
Brown, though, didn’t quite let perception fade away a couple of days later.
George, Pritchard and Sam Hauser each nailed a 3 during a 93-second stretch that pushed Boston ahead 89-70 late in the third.
Pritchard made consecutive 3s two minutes later, making it 101-73. The Celtics made 8-of-13 3s in the third.
Entering the day owning the league’s worst 3-point shooting percentage at 22.6%, the Bulls missed 15 of their initial 19 attempts from beyond the arc and finished 12 of 44.
Chicago lost its home opener in its last game on Saturday. In a scheduling quirk, the teams met in Boston again Friday.
Bulls: Host New York on Wednesday night.
Celtics: Host Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
See AP’s full NBA coverage here
Boston Celtics' Jordan Walsh, front left, battles Chicago Bulls' Matas Buzelis, right, for the ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics' Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against the Chicago Bulls during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
Boston Celtics' Payton Pritchard (11) drives to the basket against Chicago Bulls' Buddy Hield (7) during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Valkyries beat the Atlanta Dream 64-55 to take a 3-2 lead in the WNBA Finals.
THIS IS AN APNewsAlert. Check back for updates. AP's earlier story is below.
Natalie Nakase saw it in her team's much-improved body language — shoulders back and head ups. Golden State's huddle got tighter as the close-knit Valkyries came together.
The second-year coach believes much of that had to do with her own better messaging and delivery for a Game 4 win at Atlanta that evened the best-of-seven WNBA Finals at 2-2 going back to the Bay Area.
Point guard Veronica Burton believes everyone could see it, because it's tough not to notice player's head down or visible disappointment with a missed shot — and that all of that can be just as contagious as a positive swing in a game.
“You guys probably can even see it on court. You pick up on it. You see when your teammate's head is down, you see when maybe someone's not as engaged after missing a shot," Burton said before Game 5. “It's little things like that that can trickle down to someone else and seep into each other. So it's all of us, it's not just one person. When things don't go our way, how do we respond and how do we react? All of that matters.”
Golden State hopes to continue that positive momentum as it takes on Angel Reese and Atlanta again in Game 5 with support from the hostile, noisy “Ballhalla” crowd at Chase Center.
Dream coach Karl Smesko realizes how hard it is for Reese to dominate every game against the Valkyries and their stingy defense. She did it here in winning Game 2 to salvage a split on Golden State's home floor.
Reese had 30 points and 16 rebounds in last Monday's 79-65 victory that evened the series.
“I think you’ll see an energized Angel. I think she’ll play great today,” Smesko said. “In the games that we won she had historically great performances. That’s not easy to do every game against a tremendous defense like Golden State.”
The Valkyries changed up their lineup for Game 4 with Nakase inserting Tiffany Hayes and Kaila Charles into the starting five — and she stayed with those two Monday night.
And if you ask any of them, who starts the game isn't an issue. Nakase is challenging herself to make sure everyone is ready to contribute.
"It's on me to get them to play with a sense of fight that they play connected and I thought they did a great job in Game 4," Nakase said, before adding: “Our team is our strength. We've said strength in numbers. Anyone can close, anyone can start, anyone can come off the bench, anyone can finish the game. It's just so valuable that we can change our rotations, we can change our lineups, that's what's kind of dangerous about our team. It's hard to scout when you have so many options, and so that's what I love.”
Earlier Monday, the league announced Game 6 would be played at 17,000-seat State Farm Arena in Atlanta starting at 12:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday.
“I’d like to see it be a national holiday for all WNBA championship games so whatever somebody can do," Smesko said. "I hope everybody gets to see it somehow and I know that for some people it’s not realistic, they have jobs and won’t be able to make it. So I’m disappointed for that but I’m really hopeful that as many people can see the game as possible.”
See AP’s full WNBA coverage here
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) hugs Golden State Valkyries guard Kaila Charles (6) after Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard (10) attempts to shoot against Golden State Valkyries center Kiah Stokes (41) in the second half during Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) high fives fans after Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Atlanta Dream on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
Streamers fall from the rafters following the Golden State Valkyries victory over the Atlanta Dream in Game 4 of the WNBA basketball finals against the Atlanta Dream, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Atlanta. (Dan Hernandez/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
