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BOSTON – Low-effort, embarrassing defeats seemed to be behind the Bulls. If a blowout loss to the Warriors on Oct. 29 has been made, they have made their way into the world.
After that loss, they fell in love with the Nuggets, had a strong showing against the Pacers and even picked up the Knicks and Knights.
Then there was Wednesday. And just like that, embarrassment was back.
In losing 111-82 to the Celtics at the TD Garden, the Bulls slipped to 4-11 on the season and also slipped back into terrible clothes on both ends of the floor.
"They came out in the second quarter," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "And then, a huge thing in this league is finding a way to fight against adversity and playing the tough times, and we obviously did not do that."
Making the loss even more of a head-scratcher The Bulls led 24-19 after the first quarter, were shooting 4-for-6 from a three-point range, had been indebted to the Celtics (8-6) and were executing the game plan to perfection.
Until they were not.
As good as the Bulls were in the first quarter, they went out the window in the second, as the Celtics outscored them 32-11, taking advantage of their seven turnovers and their hanging heads.
By the time the Bulls stumbled into the locker room at halftime, they were down 51-35 with little hope of climbing out.
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Jabari Parker missed a baseline jumper, then slowly jogged down the floor behind the play the Celtics easily scored on a five-on-four transition basketball to go up 56-37. It was an uninspired effort for a $ 20 million-a-year player trying to reboot his career with his hometown team.
"Again, that's the thing about trying to find a way to fight the tough times," said Hoiberg of that play. "You've got to do the right thing when you're in a situation, and we did not do that well. [Wednesday], and have to get better. "
Yes, the Bulls are undermanned, but that should not be determined, veteran Justin Holiday said.
"Nope," he said. "Not an excuse."
Almost forgotten in the defeat Zach LaVine's 15-game streak of scoring at least 20 points. He finished with just 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting. While he did not shoot well, he was facing a Celtics defense on his double-teaming him and making other Bulls players beat them.
Maybe that's why LaVine was not overly frustrated afterward.
"I do not allow myself to get frustrated," he said. "I'm doing everything I can. I'm trying to play the game the right way. They were blitzing the pick-and-roll a lot, so I was trying to hit the pocket. I was not trying to force some shots, but I could have been more aggressive. It's tough. We've got to find the ball in the hoop. We've got to find something, because if I'm not getting 25 or 30, it's not looking very good. "
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