The Bulls lost 134-99 in Boston on Monday, their second straight loss, and fell to 1-3. A 12-0 burst in the second quarter was the only real resistance before a 39-21 third quarter settled it.
Never in it. Chicago did not lead and never tied it. Boston was up 33-21 after one quarter, with an 8-0 burst late in the first doing the damage, and the gap reached 40 before the night was over. Tiago Splitter called a timeout at 8-15 less than four minutes into the game. It changed nothing.
The only push. Down 44-28 in the second, the Bulls scored 12 straight and got within 44-40 with 6:23 left in the half. That was all the fight they had. Boston led 66-54 at the break, then took the third 39-21 to go up 105-75. Payton Pritchard hit seven of 10 threes off the bench, and ESPN pinned the rout on his third quarter.
Powell earned his check. Norman Powell, A-minus. Twenty points in 24 minutes, four of seven threes, six of seven free throws and four steals, at minus-3. On a night this ugly, that is as good as it gets. He has now scored 25 and 20 in the two road games, and he is the most dependable scorer this roster has.
Wilson grinds, Buzelis drifts. Caleb Wilson, C. Seventeen on 7-of-15 shooting, but one of five from deep and three turnovers, with six of his points coming in a fourth quarter long since decided. Matas Buzelis, D. Eleven points on six shots looks fine until you see minus-27 in 22 minutes. Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times called it a forgettable start for him.
Reserves got swamped. Chicago's bench scored 27. Pritchard, Hugo Gonzalez and Sam Hauser combined for 52 on their own, with Gonzalez at plus-34 and Hauser at plus-36. Buddy Hield went minus-29 over 13 minutes. Leonard Miller put up nine and nine and still finished minus-26. Isaac Okoro, plus-5 in 11 minutes, was the only Bull on the positive side.
Kids closed it. The final five minutes went to Wilson, Jordan Hawkins and rookies Dailyn Swain, Jaylin Sellers and Tobe Awaka. They put together an 8-0 run to cut it to 127-95, the only good stretch of the second half. Noa Essengue, cleared Monday, was out there at the horn. Awaka grabbed four offensive rebounds.
Where it leaves them. At 1-3 the Bulls sit 11th, half a game behind Orlando for 10th and a game and a half back of Cleveland for sixth. A start like this points to a 21-61 season. Patrick Williams (right groin) is targeting Wednesday. Nic Claxton (hamstring) is still out, with Nov. 4 as his estimated return.
How bad was the Bulls' loss to the Celtics?
Chicago lost 134-99 in Boston on Oct. 26. The Bulls never led and trailed by as much as 40.
When will Nic Claxton make his Bulls debut?
Claxton is out with a hamstring injury and has an estimated return date of Nov. 4. That is the night the Bulls play at the Knicks.
