This type of game seemed inevitable. Fresh off a double-overtime contest in Brooklyn on Friday night, the Boston Celtics walked into the United Center on tired legs. Meanwhile, the Chicago Bulls, winners of three straight, had gotten a good night’s sleep.
Chicago started the game on fire from deep, and that didn’t change much throughout the night. Outside of Josh Giddey, every single player who touched the court for the Bulls nailed a three. It was a three-point clinic.
For the most part, the Celtics were contesting the Bulls’ threes well. But it didn’t matter. They went down all the same.
As for Boston, Jaylen Brown (33 points) was the only guy who had anything going for most of the game. Anfernee Simons (21 points) gave Boston a nice boost, but other than that, their offense was desperately trying to pick up the pieces around Brown.
Brown’s gravity was essential to the Celtics staying in the game. Chicago guarded him one-on-one for most of the first half, but they switched their coverage as the game went on, ratcheting up the pressure.
That allowed Brown to make smart passes, keep the ball moving, and create some open shots for his teammates. The Celtics shot well, the Bulls just shot better.
However, as the fourth quarter ticked down, neither team could make a shot. Chicago endured a string of misses, but Boston wasn’t able to respond—their threes weren’t falling either.
In fact, their fourth-quarter offense revolved around Derrick White, who had a rough, rough game through the first three frames. His cold spell continued, but when Boston needed offense late in the game, he came up big.
Still, as both offenses went ice-cold late in the fourth quarter, the Celtics turned to one guy—Brown. It was him versus Coby White. Back and forth.
And when Jalen Smith missed a put-back dunk to all but seal the game for Chicago, Brown grabbed the rebound and soared down the full length of the court for a game-tying layup.
But it was the Bulls who got the last laugh. A defensive lapse by Boston left Kevin Huerter wide-open in the corner. He drilled a game-winning triple.
Big winner: Jaylen Brown. There’s an argument to be had that Brown should be the big winner almost every night. But this game, in particular, highlighted how important he is to everything the Celtics want to accomplish.
Without Brown, there is no ball game. Without Brown, Boston may not have scored 80 points. Without Brown, there is no Celtics basketball.
Even when the Bulls decided to focus on stopping him, he was a hub. All Brown did was make the right read, stay patient, and things worked out well for the Celtics from there.
Ouch, tough one: White made some big-time plays in the fourth quarter, but this was not his best performance. Not only did his cold stretch continue, but he had a few uncharacteristically poor defensive plays, too.
And in a game when Brown and Simons were Boston’s only sources of consistent offense, the Celtics needed White. At the very least, they needed him to hit his open shots.
Until the fourth quarter, that didn’t happen.
The big picture: This is January basketball. Boston’s energy hasn’t waned heading into the All-Star break, but it’s called a break for a reason. The Celtics need one.
They’ve been playing high-pace, high-intensity basketball for months. This style of play is absolutely exhausted, even though Joe Mazzulla dives deep into his bench every night.
Chicago couldn’t miss from long range (until the final few minutes), but the Celtics struggled to find offense outside of their superstar.
Neemias Queta was sick, Luka Garza twisted his ankle, and Amari Williams, who started the game, didn’t look completely comfortable playing at NBA speed.
Boston played a lot of basketball in the span of 24 hours, with a two-hour, 30-minute flight jammed in between. A loss is a loss, and the Celtics definitely have plenty of defensive coverages and offensive sets to clean up after this one, but context is crucial.