CHICAGO (AP) — Kevin Huerter made a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, lifting the Chicago Bulls past the Boston Celtics 114-111 before retiring Derrick Rose’s jersey number on Saturday night.
Coby White scored 22 points and hit five of Chicago’s 21 3s, helping the Bulls win their fourth straight.
Rose entered rarified air after the game when the Bulls sent his No. 1 to the rafters, putting the Chicago product alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Sloan and Bob Love as the only players with numbers retired by the team.
The Bulls gave their crowd plenty to cheer before they honored the South Side product and former MVP by squeezing out a win over the Eastern Conference’s second-place team, even though Jaylen Brown scored 33 for Boston.
Chicago led 111-109 when White missed a driving layup and Smith missed the putback with 20 seconds remaining. Brown got the rebound and drove for a layup to tie it with 14 seconds left.
The Bulls called a timeout and worked the ball to Huerter, who nailed a 3 from the corner with less than a second remaining. Huerter arrived at United Center wearing a No. 1 jersey in honor of Rose.
Nikola Vucevic scored 16 for Chicago, and Smith and Matas Buzelis added 14 points apiece.
Anfernee Simmons finished with 21 points for Boston. Derrick White added 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Meanwhile, Luka Doncic had 33 points and 11 assists, and the Lakers erased a 15-point deficit in the final seven minutes of a 116-110 victory over the Mavericks on Saturday night in the star guard’s second visit to Dallas since his shocking trade to Los Angeles almost a year ago.
LeBron James scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, when Rui Hachimura had a four-point play before another 3-pointer on the next possession to put the Lakers in front for good as Doncic improved to 4-0 against his former team.
Hachimura’s 3-pointer for a 108-106 lead started an 11-2 run that Doncic capped with a driving layup for an eight-point edge, prompting the Slovenian star to turn his old bench and declare the game over.
Max Christie, who came to Dallas along with injured 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis in the trade for Doncic, scored 24 points. Naji Marshall had 21 points and 11 rebounds as Dallas’ season-best four-game winning streak ended.
The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 41-14 from the start of the third quarter until early in the fourth, turning a 13-point deficit into a 14-point lead. Brandon Williams, who scored 20 points, had eight on a 10-2 run to finish the third, which started with a 20-4 Dallas burst.
