Boston falls flat to the Bulls in critical game for seeding, lose 121 – 99

The Boston Celtics got off to a slow shooting start against the Chicago Bulls, and could never get their footing despite several runs at the early lead Chicago built in the Bulls’ first home game with fans all season to date, falling 121 – 99 on the road.

Despite earnest effort from the Celtics on both ends of the court, a host of mistakes combined with a team playing for its postseason life handed Boston a tough loss it could ill afford to absorb. On a night the Bulls shot 45% from beyond the arc, the Celtics countered with just 28.2% 3-point efficiency while turning the ball over 14 times to Chicago’s 9.

Outrebounded 52 – 47 on a night without much ball movement and awkward lineups forced by the absence of All-Star wing Jaylen Brown and center Robert Williams III, Boston just couldn’t get its act together despite cutting the lead to 8 points with about five minutes left in the game.

An off night for All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum with just 9 points on 3-of-15 shooting (including 0-of-7 from 3), the Celtics were lead by 33 points from point guard Kemba Walker, a season high for the surging UConn product. Veteran shooting guard Evan Fournier also continued a spate of excellent play after a recent tough bout with COVID, putting up 17 points and 6 rebounds while reserve forward Grant Williams chipped in 9 points on 2-of-5 shooting to lead the bench. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1390758363894624256?s=20

The team now falls to 35 - 32 on the season and seventh in the Eastern Conference, a half-game behind the 35 - 31 Miami Heat, who they will play on Sunday, May 9 at 1 p.m. ET. The first of two games against Miami in two days, it goes without saying they are absolutely critical to the Celtics' postseason prospects. This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! [lawrence-related id=50030,50017,49979,49980] [listicle id=50019]

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