Celtics

The Celtics came out swinging against the Bulls but were blown out down the stretch. Celtics Bulls Chicago Bulls' Nikola Vucevic and Patrick Williams pressure ...

The Celtics will look to regroup against the Cavaliers, but they have several days to nurse their bruises — they return to the TD Garden floor at 7:30 p.m. The Bulls did the same a few minutes later, and the Celtics dropped their first loss of the season. Either the officials lost control of the game in the second half or a frustrated Celtics team lost control of their emotions. As he exited the floor, he appeared to yell some things that might draw the attention of the league office. After the first quarter, there really wasn’t a positive takeaway to be found across the board. That number feels much more representative of the performance we just witnessed. Whichever you believe, Jayson Tatum picked up a technical for waving at an official (which is one of the technical-worthy motions established by the league). The Bulls seemingly got whatever they wanted out of the pick-and-roll, and the Celtics couldn’t even really guard their yard on the perimeter. The Celtics started the second half on a 12-2 run, but the Bulls obliterated them the rest of the way. The Celtics weren’t going to win all 82 games. Vucevic was a major factor, but Noah Vonleh struggled mightily too with five personal fouls and two turnovers in just 12 minutes. Then the Bulls completely flipped the game around.

Boston had its moments after that, but once Chicago found its rhythm, the hosts maintained control of the game. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 25 points, and ...

The Celtics need to make it a point to attack the basket in the second half, including off cuts, just as they did to open the game. That collapsed the defense, and Horford kicked the ball to Marcus Smart in the corner, and he made the extra pass, swinging it to Tatum for a three at the right wing. Boston course corrected to start the second half, going on a 12-2 run in 2:40 early in the third quarter. Boston's frustrations with the officiating continued in the final frame. Steals and struggles in transition continued plaguing Boston after that, as a poor pass from Malcolm Brogdon led to a Zach LaVine jam at the other end. That cut the Celtics' deficit to 65-54. The first one came off terrific ball movement as Brown and Horford partnered on a pick-and-roll, with the former getting the latter the rock in the paint as he rolled to the rim. That gave the visitor's a 20-6 advantage. Starting at the 6:59 mark, Tatum's abilities as a facilitator were on display. The result was Brown's knee hitting the hardwood with a thud. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 25 points, and Nikola Vucevic tortured the Celtics, pairing his 18 points with a game-high 23 rebounds. The starters made it look easy, but when both teams turned to their second units, momentum swung in the Bulls' favor.

Through the first few minutes of their Monday-night matchup with the Chicago Bulls, the Boston Celtics could do no wrong. They made eight of their first ...

[Jaylen Brown](/nba/players/2202365/jaylen-brown/) drove to the basket and drew a foul, much to the consternation of [Nikola Vucevic](/nba/players/1647481/nikola-vucevic/). This was just the fourth game in charge for Mazzulla, who took over during training camp for Ime Udoka, who was suspended for the season. Both [Jayson Tatum](/nba/players/2268018/jayson-tatum/) and Mazzulla were upset that he did not receive a technical foul, as Tatum had a few minutes prior for a similar reaction. Instead, the Celtics collapsed after that red-hot start and were outscored 104-67 over the final 41 minutes, as the Bulls cruised to a 120-102 win. They made eight of their first nine attempts from 3-point land and jumped out to a 19-point lead; it seemed a fourth consecutive win to start the season was on the way. Late in the third quarter,

Visit ESPN for the game recap of the Boston Celtics vs. Chicago Bulls NBA basketball game on October 24, 2022.

But interim coach Joe Mazzulla and [Grant Williams](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/4066218/grant-williams) got ejected. [DeMar DeRozan](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3978/demar-derozan) scored 25 points, [Nikola Vucevic](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/6478/nikola-vucevic) added 18 points and 23 rebounds, and Chicago wiped out a big early deficit to beat Boston 120-102 on Monday night. [Zach LaVine](http://www.espn.com/nba/player/_/id/3064440/zach-lavine), playing his second game after missing the first two, added 19 points, helping the Bulls stop a two-game skid and pick up their first win since the opener at Miami. Certainly, the more load that he has away from games, that's the part that's got to be managed.” But the Bulls responded with a 15-2 run. But Chicago turned it around in a huge way. Mazzulla said he was trying to get the referee's attention and needs to do a better job keeping his composure. Williams got tossed early in the fourth after he was called for an offensive blocking foul. Mazzulla went onto the court and made “unsportsmanlike comments" that led to the first technical, crew chief Marc Davis told a pool reporter. They then went on another big run after the lead dwindled to three early in the third and handed the Celtics their first loss after a 3-0 start. We have to try to find a way to respond each time.” [Chicago Bulls](http://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bulls) looked as if they were on their way to a blowout loss to the [Boston Celtics](http://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/bos/boston-celtics).

Boston Celtics point guard Marcus Smart was just doing his job by playing good defense, but one NBA referee got in the way not once but twice.

[CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP](https://foxnews.onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products) Ayo Dosunmu, the Bulls’ point guard, was also feeling himself with 22 points, six boards and two assists. [Chicago Bulls](https://www.foxnews.com/category/sports/nba/chicago-bulls) on Monday night, Smart deflected a pass from DeMar DeRozan to Zach LaVine, and instead of going out of bounds, the ball hit off referee Marc Davis's head and stayed in. Smart, recognizing that, sprinted over and tried to keep the ball in bounds. Jaylen Brown also had 21 points with six rebounds and two assists. But Davis was once again in the way.