The Bulls dominate the Celtics 121-99 for their 2nd straight win. With this win, the Bulls win the season series against the Celtics. Chicago shot only 43% from the field, but still won by 22 points. Jayson Tatum struggled today, only scoring 9 points on 3-15 shooting. Kemba Walker had a season-high 33 points and played really well. Evan Fournier continued his hot stretch with a 17 point performance. For the Bulls, Zach LaVine and Coby White combined for 50 points and 10 made 3’s. Nikola Vucevic had a triple double as well. Not a whole lot of production from either team’s bench tonight. The biggest difference in tonight’s game was the made 3’s. Boston made just 11 and Chicago made 18. Tough loss for the Celtics.
STAR OF THE GAME
Throughout the entire game, Nikola Vucevic mainly saw a bunch of double teams. He did commit 4 turnovers, but overall he had a pretty impressive night. Nikola had 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. He also had 2 steals and a block. It wasn’t the most efficient scoring game (7-16 FG), but he got his teammates involved. Vucevic was the best player traded at the deadline this year. Unfortunately, Zach LaVine missed a couple of weeks due to health and safety protocols so the Bulls never truly got to see how the Vucevic/LaVine duo would work. If the past 2 games are any indication though, this could be a great duo in the East.
BIGGEST CONCERN
The game result was not ideal. Boston is fighting for the 4th seed and they have a huge 2 game series against the Heat coming up. This loss tonight now makes them the 7th seed entering Sunday’s matchup. The bigger issue for the Celtics though is the health of Robert Williams. Robert Williams missed tonight’s game with a left foot turf toe. Brad Stevens said that he isn’t sure what Robert Williams’ availability would be over the next week. Obviously, the Celtics are a better team with Robert. In the games that Williams has started, the Celtics are 10-2. Hopefully Robert will be healthy for the playoffs.
SURPRISE CONTRIBUTION
Grant Williams has not been playing the best basketball recently. In fact, some games he has been out of the rotation. Tonight, Brad Stevens gave Grant a chance to play in the 4th and Grant took full advantage. He had 9 points on 2-5 shooting to go along with 2 rebounds and 1 block. Hopefully this performance can snap Grant out of the slump that he has been in recently.
Next Game
Vs Miami Heat, Sunday, May 9th at 10:00 AM
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