© David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
Chicago Bulls go winless in the NBA's In-Season Tournament after getting walloped by the Boston Celtics 124-97
The Chicago Bulls lost its fifth straight game, as they got crushed by the Boston Celtics, 124-97, in the NBA In-Season Tournament on Tuesday night. The Bulls ended the inaugural staging of the tournament without a single win across their name, going 0-4 in the East’s Group C. The Bulls’ spiral down the nowhere continued, as they have now lost eight of their last nine games and now carry a dismal 5-14 record.
The Celtics dominated from the get-go
The Bulls’ first-quarter woes were on full display once again as they trailed 31-20 after the first 12 minutes of action after shooting 8-of-26 from the field. The barrage continued for Boston as they raised their lead to 19, 69-50, at halftime and pushed it to a high of 35 in a furious effort to win Group C.
The Celtics emerged as the winner of Group C and will be the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They will take on the second-seeded Indiana Pacers in the knockout round next week.
Things got weird
There are plenty of unwritten rules in the NBA. One of the most prominent is the unwritten code against running up the score. But with the point differential playing a role in which the team advances to the knockout rounds, the Celtics tried to score as many points as they possibly could.
Boston even repeatedly fouled Bulls big man Andre Drummond-a 47% free-throw shooter—in the fourth quarter, sending him to the line in an effort to gain more possessions. The Celtics needed to win by 23 points to clinch Group C.
"But I also understand the situation he’s in, too. He’s got to coach his team and do what’s right, but I think it was putting Andre in a tough spot down 30 points," Donovan said. "But this is from the league. This is what the league has done, making this point-differential thing."
