Bulls shock Celtics; LeBron sets record

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Zach LaVine scored a season-high 36 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 117-108 upset victory at defending National Basketball Association (NBA) champion Boston on Thursday while LeBron James once again made history.

LaVine went 11-of-19 from the floor and made six three-pointers while adding six rebounds and four assists for the Bulls, who improved to 13-15 on the season.

“We’re a good team,” LaVine said.

“We’re competitive and we’re a resilient group.”

Ayo Dosunmu contributed 17 points for the Bulls while Nikola Vucevic had 16 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago.

The Bulls outscored Boston, 35-22, in the fourth quarter to rally past the Celtics, who had 31 points and 10 rebounds from Jason Tatum, 20 points from Kristaps Porzingis and 19 from Jaylen Brown in a losing cause as Boston fell to 21-6 on the season.

James broke the NBA all-time minutes played record that had belonged to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he was on the court for his 57,447th minute of NBA competition and 10th of the game in helping the Los Angeles Lakers beat Sacramento, 113-100.

James, who passed Abdul-Jabbar for the NBA all-time scoring record earlier this year, scored 19 points while Austin Reaves had 25 points and Anthony Davis added 21 points and 20 rebounds.