CHICAGO – Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics started slowly and duked it out early with the Chicago Bulls.

But the reigning NBA champions came into the game and prevailed 123-98 on Saturday night, with Tatum posting 43 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists to earn five-time All-Star comparisons with former Celtics star and Hall of Famer Larry Bird secured.

According to the team, Tatum’s third career triple-double was the first for a Celtics player to include 40 or more points since Bird scored 49 points with 14 rebounds and 12 assists against Portland in a 152-148 loss on March 15, 1992 victory in extra time.

Tatum emphasized that the win is the most important thing, but a little icing on the cake isn’t a bad thing.

“Larry Bird is probably the best player to ever wear this jersey,” Tatum said. “Any time you achieve something in the same sentence as him is special, even if you never reach that peak.”

Bird finished his 13 seasons with Boston with 59 triple-doubles. According to the Celtics, it was Tatum’s first time with the team to score 40 or more points and 15 or more rebounds. Tatum’s hit also marked his sixth straight double-double and 14th of the season.

Tatum got rolling in the second quarter and scored 18 points in the third quarter as Boston used a 19-8 run to take a 93-77 lead heading into the fourth quarter. He finished the game 16-for-24 from the floor, making 9 of 15 3-point attempts. Two free throws rounded out his scoreline.

“As a basketball player, you feel the rhythm, the ball finds you,” Tatum said. “They’re just active everywhere and probably in the third quarter.”

“Joe (Mazzulla) just challenges me every night just to empower my teammates and find ways to dominate all over the court. Obviously I’m scoring a lot tonight and getting rebounds. It just looks different every night.”

The score was tied midway through the second quarter, then the Celtics and Tatum found an offensive rhythm. Boston had a 61-54 halftime lead and used an 8-0 run to build a 12-point lead at one point. Tatum and the Celtics took the lead in the third after the Bulls got within five points.

“He went above and beyond what we normally do and that’s a testament to him,” Mazzulla said. “Just his shooting technique, his decision-making, his rebounding ability. I thought he kind of controlled the whole game.”