Aussies Abroad: Giddey's heroics not enough for Bulls

Payton Pritchard made all five of his three-point attempts during Boston's big third quarter and finished with 28 points, to lead the Celtics to a 134-99 NBA thumping of the Chicago Bulls.

Jayson Tatum had 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Boston on Monday night (Tuesday AEDT), and Paul George scored 16 points the Celtics (2-1), who outscored the Bulls 39-21 in the third when Prichard scored 19 points.

Australian Boomers star Josh Giddey tried his best for the visitors, with 11 points, four assists, one rebound and one steal. Norman Powell led the Bulls (1-3) with 20 points.

Boston never trailed, opening a 16-point lead early in the second quarter, then 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 a long three-pointer with 0.8 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.

Entering the day owning the league's worst three-point shooting percentage at 22.6 per cent, the Bulls missed 15 of their initial 19 attempts from beyond the arc and finished 12-of-44.

In Houston, Alperen Sengun had 29 points, nine assists and nine rebounds as the Rockets remained unbeaten with a 120-110 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Rockets are 4-0 this season and Monday was their second consecutive win over the Hawks (2-2) after they got a 121-114 win in Atlanta on Saturday night.

Australian Boomer teammates Jock Landale and Dyson Daniels both played their part for the Hawks.

Still wearing a face guard, Landale finished with eight points, six rebounds and four assists, while Daniels had four assists, four points and one steal.

Kevin Durant added 22 points for the Rockets and Jabari Smith Jr scored 16 points.

In Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell had 26 points, including five points in overtime, as the Cavaliers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 127-125 despite 47 points from Anthony Edwards.

James Harden added 19 points and Evan Mobley scored 18 for the Cavaliers (2-1), who have won their past four home games against the Timberwolves (3-1).

Read more >> Team-By-Team: Hooyah & Harden Up

In Miami, Cooper Flagg had 29 points and 11 assists as the Dallas Mavericks sent the reeling Heat to 0-4 with a 113-109 win.

PJ Washington added 20 points, Melbourne-born Kyrie Irving scored 18 and Walter Clayton Jr had 15 for Dallas.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had his first triple-double since joining the Heat, finishing with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists. 

In Oklahoma City, Ajay Mitchell scored a career-high 30 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 26 as the short-handed Thunder beat the visiting Phoenix Suns 125-114.

Jared McCain scored 18 points and Isaiah Hartenstein had 15 points and 13 rebounds to help keep Oklahoma City perfect through four games.

Australia's Duop Reath contributed five points and had three rebounds in his seven minutes of court time for the Suns. 

In Milwaukee, Tyler Herro had 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists as the Milwaukee Bucks defeated the Indiana Pacers 110-102 for their first win of the season.