Bulls fall late to Celtics |
CHICAGO - It has been a long time since the Chicago Bulls (8-13) won anything, nearly 30 years to be exact, but the Bulls had a chance to win something in front of their United Center fans on Saturday. Facing off against the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics (17-3) for the final Group Game of the Emirates Cup, the Bulls were a win away from clinching the group and advancing to the knockout portion of the Tournament.
Beating the Celtics is hard enough when they aren't at full strength, but with the return of Kristaps Porzingis, Boston is at full strength yet again and could once again be the best team in the league. Credit the Bulls for giving the Celtics all they could handle as Boston came out on fire to take a 39-30 first-quarter lead, only to have the Bulls respond with a massive second quarter that made this a 67-67 game at the half. Chicago continued to give the Celtics all they could handle most of the second half. They were within one after three-quarters and continued to remain within possession throughout the fourth. Eventually, the Celtics would take over down the stretch, beginning to pull away late to hand the Bulls a 138-129 loss. The United Center struggles continued for Chicago. Anytime you're going up against the Celtics, you'll need your star players to step up in a big way. Despite Coby White struggling to shoot the ball and finishing with just 11 points, the other two of the Bulls big three came up huge, including Nikola Vucevic. Despite all the talk about Zach Lavine and how well he has played this season, Vucevic has been the best and most consistent player on the Bulls roster, as he has looked the best he has looked since coming to Chicago four seasons ago. Whether on the offensive end, where he continues to display his overall game, or the defensive end, where he goes about his business, Vooch was massive for Chicago in this one. He led the Bulls with 32 points and pulled down 11 boards. As mentioned, Lavine has gotten off to one of his best starts this season, and that will only help generate a better trade market as the season goes on. Lavine continued to play well in this one, adding 29 points, but with only one rebound and one assist, he was a one-dimensional player, which isn't always a good thing. Even with guys like White finishing with 11 points and Ayo Dosunmu adding 13 points, the Bulls' starting five wasn't nearly as successful as the Celtics' starting five, meaning it would be up to their bench to pick up the slack. You have seen them do that in recent weeks, as the bench is not only getting more involved but also doing a better job of consistently scoring. Talen Horton-Tucker has been a big reason for that, as he has come to life on the offensive end. After dropping 20 points off the bench earlier this week for his best game of the season, THT was at it again, leading the Bulls bench with 16 points and connecting on all four of his triples. Coming into the season, there were many questions as to whether or not Horton-Tucker would even make this team, let alone see significant minutes, but here we are 21 games into the season, and he may be their best option off the bench. The same can be said about Torrey Craig now that he is healthy again, as he connected for three triples in his own right to finish with 11 points. Chicago finished with 20 made triples in the game, with eight coming from the bench. Not only are the Celtics a deep team, but they are also explosive. Six players, including all five of their starters, scored double digits. Four of those six had at least 20 points, and anytime that happens, you're making it tough for the opposition to knock you off. As has been the case most of the season, Jayson Tatum was on fire and gave the Bulls fits right from the opening tip. Not only did he lead all scorers with 35 points, but with 14 rebounds and five assists, he did a little bit of everything to post a massive double-double. As is the case when the Celtics are clicking, it was the big three for Boston that carried them, as Jaylon Brown and Porzingis came through with strong showings, adding 21 points each in the win. Brown did it his typical way by knocking down four triples and getting to the line, but with a 7-20 night shooting, he has had some issues shooting the ball. Porzingis was more offensively minded than we have seen in the past, as he only added eight boards to his 21 points, but his presence alone has changed Boston over the past week, and they look like the team to beat again. Along with those three continuing to do their thing on the floor, you had Derrick White chip in with 16 points while Jrue Holiday added 11 points, eight rebounds, and six assists to pave the way for the Celtics offense. The most important player in this one wasn't even a starter but instead a bench player responsible for 29 of the team's 34 points off the bench. That man was Payton Pritchard, who had a massive showing for the Celtics second unit. Considering this was only a nine-point win, every one of his 29 points was crucial as he came out firing and knocked down seven triples off the bench. Had he not had a game like this, Chicago very easily could've found a way to win this game, even with the Celtics starters' production, as this was a classic case of the Bulls not quite having enough to get the job done.
