BSJ Game Report: Bulls 117, Celtics 108 - Frustrated C's out-shot in loss to Chicago

Everything you need to know about the Celtics loss to the Bulls, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics started slow but their defense did the job until Jayson Tatum (12 points) could heat up. Payton Pritchard was instrumental in Boston building a four-point lead after one and briefly extending it in the second. Zach LaVine and the Bulls got hot from 3 but Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White helped keep Boston in front at halftime.Tatum scored 12 more in the third but the Bulls still kept it within four. They flipped the script with a big run to start the fourth, and while it looked like the Celtics had a shot to get the game back, they never got closer than three. 

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Out-shot: This is a rarity. The Celtics shot 14-56 from 3, just 25%, while the Bulls shot 19-52. You never see the Celtics out-scored by 15 from 3 in a game, but it happened in this one. LaVine hit some tough shots in this game, leaving White very visibly frustrated at one point. The Celtics got a taste of their own medicine tonight and it did not feel good. 

- Out-hustled: Both teams had 11 offensive rebounds, but eight of Chicago’s came in the second half. The Bulls played fast and they played hard, and Boston never really matched it in the second half. This was the first time in a while that Boston’s missed shots, and maybe the tough shots Chicago was making, led to visible frustration that they could never shake. 

- Officiating mess: I commented during the game that the sequence after White’s three free throws where they got a steal and a Jaylen Brown 3-pointer could be the game’s turning point. The Celtics missed a shot after that and it looked like Brown had tied up Ayo Dosunmu, but the ref said Pritchard, who was also in on the play, was going to jump. 

Joe Mazzulla got a tech, then Brown did. And then two minutes later Tatum got one too. 

So let’s take this step-by-step: 

• The ref was wrong. Brown was first in to tie the ball up, he should have jumped.

• Mazzulla didn’t say anything bad, but being out on the floor like he was earned the tech. 

• Brown knew the ref was being sensitive, but he still carried on. They're both wrong. Here’s Brown’s explanation: 

“I said to him, 'You called a tech for no reason.' He said, 'If you say it to me again, I'm gonna call another tech.' And then he called a tech … when I come to you and say you're giving a tech for no reason, as a captain before the game, I come and shake all the refs' hands because I speak for my team. I'm allowed to talk. So when I tell you you called a tech for no reason and you say, 'If you say it again, I'm calling another tech,' then I say it again and you call a tech, you just threatened your whistle as a threat. Like, that's not a part of the game either and it's bullshit.”

So Brown will probably be hit with a fine on top of everything, but I say they're both wrong because while the official is clearly being sensitive, Brown knew he was being sensitive. The ref basically told him ‘I’m all up in my feelings right now so get ready for me to go overboard.’ Brown challenged him straight up instead of continuing the conversation a little more tactfully and the ref did exactly what he said he was going to do. 

• Tatum’s tech was weak, too, but I’m going “both wrong” on this too. How many times does Tatum have to get a tech by waving at ref before he stops doing it? It’s a weak tech, for sure. It’s also frustrating because I’ve seen players wave at refs and not get techs, so it’s inconsistent. That's wrong on Tony Brothers’ part, in my opinion. But Tatum KNOWS that always gets him a tech. I’ve seen it happen at least a dozen times. Find something else to express frustration. 

In the end, the two techs on Mazzulla and Brown helped squash Boston’s momentum. We can all agree that the techs were weak, but I also believe in personal responsibility. The coach shouldn’t have been that far onto the floor and Brown was told flat-out what would happen if he continued and he persisted. That was horrible timing for them to try to prove their points.

TURNING POINT 

The Bulls went on a 17-4 run to start the fourth quarter. They went from down four to up nine in a hurry. The Celtics had that one chance, but once that went away, it was clear they didn’t have it in them to come back this time.

THINGS I LIKED

- The first half: I thought the Celtics played decent defense the first half. They got burned by Patrick Williams, which is a little out of the ordinary. LaVine came in and played great, hitting some really tough shots. But overall, I thought this was going be one of Mazzulla’s ‘our expected points were better than theirs’ kind of postgame press conferences where he explained how Boston turned it around. 

Offensively, I thought Boston was getting good looks. I didn’t have many issues with how the first half was played. 

- Jayson Tatum (Quarters 1-3): He had 31 points in the game, 29 through three. He was a +6, shooting well, playing defense, and moving the ball. It didn’t go well in the fourth, though. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

- Jaylen Brown: I’ll get more into this down below. I don’t think playing was the best idea considering what he and his family went through this week with the break-in at his mother’s house. Before the game I wrote “Basketball-wise, I have to wonder how much of a distraction it will be. It’s not easy to focus on something like a basketball game when it feels as trivial as it does in this situation, but he’s here and playing, so he has to find a way to focus.” He didn’t.

- Second half, especially the fourth quarter: A few years ago, I wouldn’t have been surprised by this lack of composure. This season, I am. It’s not the biggest deal in the world, and maybe it’s more of a compliment to the team that I’m confused by there not being a point where they got themselves under control. 

- Derrick White: I don’t care about him having a tough offensive game as much as I do all the outward displays of frustration that we rarely see. He’s human, so he’s allowed to have these days, but just like everyone else, I’m surprised he was this down on himself. What’s funny is that he seemed super frustrated at practice the other day, so maybe he’s just struggling with something on the court right now. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Jaylen Brown was not ready to play. 

I didn’t want to write separately about the break-in at his mother’s house. I imagine everyone feels the same way. Family comes first, and the most important part of this story is the well-being and safety of his family. Brown admitted this was a tough week for him, and I can’t imagine anyone questioning that. 

Playing in this game was the tough part. Basketball is both trivial at times like this and also a sanctuary for basketball players. Stepping between those lines is where everything makes the most sense, where a player feels like he has total control of his world, and where he’s insulated from the crappiness of the outside world. 

But Brown clearly wasn’t ready to take the floor on Thursday night. His head wasn’t in the game, and when that confrontation with the official came, he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to navigate his way out of it. After the game, he sat at the podium talking to us in the media and was clearly not his usual self. 

And all of that is perfectly understandable. It’s hard to find the balance of wanting to work after what happened, needing to work after what happened, and admitting to yourself that you’re not in the right state of mind to do your job the way it needs to be done. 

I hope Brown and his family find some peace of mind after this incident. Athletes are being targeted around the country because they can be pretty easy targets. Everyone knows when they're out of town and for how long. The Celtics are going to Chicago tomorrow for a game on Saturday, and then they travel to Orlando on Sunday for game Monday night. Everyone in the world knows this is when they're gone. 

“The Celtics have provided information for us to figure it out and make sure we can do our job when we travel and stuff,” Brown said. “I know it’s been going on in different parts of the world and different parts of the US where similar things have happened to athletes, etc. So hopefully, anybody who it hasn’t happened to yet, just make sure you’ve got things in place and that it doesn’t. Obviously, to go through that experience and people still in the crib and stuff like that is, it just means you think about some things differently.”

Brown is extraordinarily close to his mother, and it must be very difficult for someone who probably feels invincible every night on the floor to know she was vulnerable. At the same time he has no choice but to find a way to deal with this so he can do his job properly. It’s not the most fair situation in the world, but he’ll have to figure it out at some point. Until then the Celtics will certainly support him however he needs, even if that means missing time. 

Next up: The Celtics go to Chicago for a rematch with the Bulls on Saturday.