Takeaways & Player Grades: Boston Celtics 115, Chicago Bulls 101

That's more like it!

After talking about the Chicago Bulls' shockingly strong record against the NBA's best earlier today, they face an ugly 115-101 loss to the Boston Celtics. It didn't matter that they shot better from the field or did a decent job limiting their turnovers; the Celtics still had full control nearly the entire game.

Let's talk about why ...

3 Takeaways

Worst First Half of the Season

Coming out against a slower-moving and defensively stout Boston Celtics team, the Chicago Bulls looked completely lost. It's hard to imagine a much worse first quarter, as the team shot 6-22 from the field for a season-low 14 points. More than half of their attempts also came from behind the arc, as they looked a little too eager to keep up with a Boston team that takes the second-most triples in the NBA.

The second quarter wasn't much better. While they did do a slightly better job putting up some points in the paint, they continued to heave three-pointers and watch them bounce off the rim. Overall, the offense lacked both rhythm and creativity without Josh Giddey on the floor. The off-ball movement was non-existent, and the same can be said about the transition playmaking despite the Celtics' own shooting woes.

Indeed, what made the Bulls' 21-point halftime deficit that much worse was the fact that Boston shot a mere 36 percent from the field and only made one more three-pointer. So, how the heck were they up as much as they were? The offensive glass was a major concern coming into this one, and it immediately proved to be a difference-maker. They had 14 offensive rebounds in the first half alone, turning that into a 16-2 advantage in second-chance points. Boston also took eight Chicago Bulls turnovers and turned that into 15 points.

The Bulls ultimately walked into halftime down 54-33. Chicago had not scored that little in a half since February 11, 2025. They also scored more points in the first quarter alone in two of their previous three games. And they came out in the third quarter and dropped 34 points! Just a putrid first half.

How Many Extra Field Goals!?

The Boston Celtics came into the night dead-last in PACE, yet they finished the game with a season-high 104 field goal attempts. More specifically, they tossed up 18 more attempts than Chicago, which is almost always going to be a winning recipe.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, this did not happen because they forced Boston to play their brand of basketball. It happened because of their sloppiness and lack of physicality on the glass. Chicago turned the ball over 13 times and allowed 19 points off those mistakes. Far more troubling, they allowed the Celtics to gobble up 20 offensive rebounds to their 6. This resulted in a 26-12 advantage in the second-chance points department.

A couple of those offensive rebounds and turnovers led to buckets behind the arc, where the Celtics had a 60-48 advantage. Anfernee Simons feasted off the bench with a season-high eight made threes, while Payton Pritchard added four of his own, including one at the halftime buzzer.

At the end of the day, winning the possession battle is why the Celtics cruised despite shooting 40.0 percent from the field

The Bulls Got Lucky, Too

So I guess the Bulls checked off one of my three keys to the game?

By far the craziest thing about tonight's beatdown is the fact that Jalyen Brown was essentially a non-factor. He came into the evening fresh off a 50-point outburst against the Los Angeles Clippers. He has averaged a career-high 30.1 points on 51.0 percent shooting from the field, and he's bumped this up to 33.0 points a night over the last 12 games. When we consider how rough this Bulls defense has been all year, it almost felt inevitable that Brown would be in for another big night.

Instead, he ended up finishing the night an ugly 6-24 from the field and 1-6 from long range for 14 points. It marked his second-lowest scoring performance of the year – the first of which was a 12-point effort against the Rockets in only 21 minutes of action. Brown was on the floor for 35 minutes tonight.

Getting that kind of off-night from Brown and still losing by double-digits says a lot about where things stand with this Bulls team. Speaking of which, we should also recognize that the team's second-leading scorer also had one of his worst nights. Derrick White went 1-10 from downtown for 10 points. How the heck do you let this one get so out of hand?

Chicago Bulls Player Grades

Tre Jones of the Chicago Bulls — Jan 5, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) fouls Chicago Bulls guard Tre Jones (30) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images | Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images

Matas Buzelis – A-
Stats: 26 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST

This wasn't a game where Matas Buzelis disappeared. The forward was active on the offensive end all night long, and he did a particularly good job trying to keep the Bulls alive in the second half. In fact, it was largely his 10 points that cut things to a 10-point game with under 5 minutes to go. Even if I wanted to see a little more from him on the glass, considering the disparity, a 9-12 shooting display against this Celtics defense is encouraging.

Also, this was his fourth straight game with 15+ points, which marks the longest streak of his career (h/t Bulls PR).

Ayo Dosunmu – B
Stats: 15 PTS, 5 AST, 3 REB

Ayo Dosunmu provided needed energy off the bench and tried to do what he could to help the Bulls get into a more familiar offensive rhythm. I'm curious to see if Billy Donovan looks to move him into the starting lineup at any point over the next few games. You might as well give it a try.

Nikola Vucevic – B-
Stats: 15 PTS, 15 REB, 7 AST

It's hard to blame Nikola Vucevic for the rebounding problems when he snags 15. He also did a nice job locking in during the fourth quarter and helping put a small scare into the Celtics. The big man scored all but 2 of his points in the fourth quarter and drained all three of his triples (3-5).

Tre Jones – C
Stats: 10 PTS, 5 REB, 4 AST

The Chicago Bulls need a little more of a scoring punch from Tre Jones, who sometimes looks hesitant to attack the basket or toss up a three-pointer. I understand he is a pass-first player, but when the offense is as stagnant as it is tonight, they need someone in the backcourt to be aggressive.

Coby White – C-
Stats: 5 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST

Coming back after missing the last three games, Coby White was on a tight minutes restriction and playing off the bench. The guard looked all out of sorts, taking only seven shot attempts and turning the ball over four times. Considering the injury trouble, I don't want to go past a C, but it's going to be very interesting to track him over the next couple of days, especially since he came back earlier than expected.