The Celtics didn't win their group, but can still make the knockout stage of the NBA Cup under the right circumstances.

Payton Pritchard scored 19 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to help Boston rally for a 138-129 win in Chicago. It was Boston’s seventh straight win and pulls them within a game of Cleveland for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. It also keeps the Celtics in contention for a wild-card spot in the NBA Cup.

Boston’s 138-129 victory at the United Center kept Joe Mazzulla’s club alive in the NBA’s in-season tournament. The Celtics cannot win their group – Atlanta did so with its win over Cleveland earlier in the day – but can claim the Eastern Conference’s wild-card berth if they finish with the best point differential of the three second-place teams.