The Boston Celtics didn’t play well in their 117-108 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday. Boston missed a franchise-record 42 3-pointers, hitting only 14 out of 56, and they were outscored 35-22 in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics will try to bounce back and avoid losing to the Bulls for the second time in three days when they play in Chicago on Saturday.
“We were getting decent looks, but we just weren’t making them,” said Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis. “And when you’re not making them, not that our energy was lacking, but it’s just not the same hype. And honestly, they were taking and making some tough shots, and they were also making the open ones.”
Chicago’s Zach LaVine made 6 of 11 3-pointers and scored a season-high 36 points.
“He’s been great, very unselfish,” said Chicago coach Billy Donovan about LaVine. “He’s tried to lead. His poise, his composure has been great. That first half (20 points) he really carried us. Zach kept playing the right way, picked his spots, took his shots when they were there.
I thought he played a great game as far as shot selection, the quality of shots, how aggressive he was to keep us close that first half. I thought he was great all the way around.”
LaVine scored five straight points after Boston closed the gap to 99-96 with a 3-pointer from Jaylen Brown. Two of those points came from free throws after both Boston coach Joe Mazzulla and Brown were given technical fouls with 5:12 left in the game.
Mazzulla received the tech for walking onto the court, while Brown got one for questioning the call. Jayson Tatum also received a technical foul with 3:10 remaining.
“I thought the physicality — we met it better in the second half and particularly in the fourth quarter,” said Donovan. “Everyone wants to talk about them shooting 3s, and they are great at it, maybe the best in the league.
But it’s the other stuff they do, the physicality, that they can switch one through four or five, that they can post you, go to the offensive glass, generate extra possessions. They’re physical. Besides how great they are as individual players, to me it’s the other stuff they do.”
The win ended Chicago’s five-game losing streak against Boston, which included a 138-129 home loss on November 29. It also gave the Bulls their third straight win, the first time they’ve done that this season.
“From all predictions early on in the year, we’re better than what people predicted us to be just off the talent we had here,” said LaVine. “We’re competitive. You can lose to anyone in the league, and you go out and play like we did (Thursday), we can beat anybody. We’re a resilient group.”
The Bulls were 19 of 52 from 3-point range in Thursday’s win. They were down 57-54 at halftime and 86-82 going into the fourth quarter but used a 12-0 run to take a 99-90 lead.
Boston shot just 39.2 percent from the field, which was their worst shooting percentage of the season. Jayson Tatum finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds but was 10-of-22 shooting.
“They played physical,” said Brown. “They hit shots. They guarded well. If a team’s hitting shots and guarding well, anything can happen on any given night.”
