By KYLE HIGHTOWER AP Sports Writer

BOSTON – Zach LaVine scored a season-high 36 points and the Chicago Bulls used a fourth-quarter upset to hold off the Boston Celtics 117-108 in their home opener on Thursday night.

The teams will meet again in Chicago on Saturday evening.

Ayo Dosunmu added 17 points and Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds, helping Chicago to its best third straight win of the season.
Chicago outscored Boston 35-22 in the fourth quarter, making 19 3-pointers for the game.

Jayson Tatum had 31 points to lead Boston, which lost at home for just the fourth time this season. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and eight rebounds.

Chicago’s big fourth quarter included technical fouls on coach Joe Mazzulla, Jaylen Brown and Tatum that put Boston in trouble for the rest of the game.

Mazzulla’s frustration continued after the game when he had to be stopped from confronting the referees by two assistant coaches.
Takeaways

Bulls: One of Chicago’s best performances this season came without Josh Giddey, who missed his first game of the season with a sprained ankle.

Celtics: A frustrating night for Boston, which went haywire and forced a few three-pointers late.

Key moment

Chicago opened the final period with a 17:4 run and took a 99:90 lead. Boston scored six straight goals before two technical fouls were called on Mazzulla and Brown after both protested a non-foul on Brown. LaVine hit both free throws that followed and then hit a 31-footer to put Chicago back in the lead, 104-96. Later in the period, Tatum also caught a technical that helped extend the Bulls’ lead to 10.

Key statistics

The Celtics made 14 3-pointers, ending the Bulls’ three-game streak of holding their opponents under 10.