It’s far too early to say the Chicago Bulls have the Boston Celtics’ number but Zach LaVine & co. really seem to get up for their matchups v. the defending Eastern Conference champions. Last night, Chicago snapped Boston’s 9-game winning streak with an impressive, 121-107 win at the United Center.
Losers of 6 outta their last 7 games prior to last night’s tilt, the Bulls rode a hot shooting night (52% from the field w/ 14! made triples) to an early advantage & practically cruised to a W. Boston made it interesting in the fourth by cutting the lead to as close as 7 but contributions from DeMar DeRozan (28, 8 & 4 dimes), LaVine (22, 5 boards, 5 dimes & 5 triples) & Patrick Williams (season-high 17! pts & 4 boards) was too much of a difference to overcome.
Williams, in particular, had his most aggressive offensive outing of the season - obviously, since he had his season-high! - moreso in terms of the strong moves he made towards the rim, v. Jayson Tatum, with the shot clock winding down. On multiple occasions, Williams attacked Tatum off the dribble and created mid range pull-ups after a a couple set up bounces - instead of waiting for the game to come to him, he was looking for it.
CHI’s (7-10) victory over the East-leading Celtics (13-4) is (hopefully) something for them to build upon moving forward.