The Bulls’ trip to Boston started ugly and got uglier, and the damage came fast once the Celtics hit the third quarter.
Chicago hung around for a half, but Boston blew the game open after the break and rolled to a 134-99 win on Monday night at TD Garden. The Celtics owned the third quarter 39-21, and the Bulls never found a way to stop the slide.
For head coach Tiago Splitter, the frustrating part goes beyond the final score. He has repeatedly talked about winning the possession battle, and Boston took control there too, finishing plus-9 in field goal attempts while grabbing 19 offensive rebounds. That kind of margin is hard to survive, especially against a team like the Celtics.
Even so, this didn’t start like a total disaster for Chicago. The Bulls actually used their pace to create some early life, and that speed helped them piece together a couple of runs in the first half. At one point, they ripped off an 8-0 burst in 42 seconds, and later stretched that into a 12-0 run that pulled them within 44-40 after trailing by double digits.
Their defensive effort had some pop early as well. Caleb Wilson opened with a pair of blocks, and the Bulls were active enough to force 12 turnovers in the first half while picking up seven steals. Boston looked a little rushed at times, and Chicago’s pace clearly had some effect.
But the Celtics were still the better team through the opening half, shooting 51.0 percent from the field and putting pressure on Chicago around the rim. Boston had 21 shot attempts at the basket, and while the Bulls limited them to 12 makes in the restricted area, the paint numbers still told the story. Boston led 28-16 in points in the paint at the break and finished with a 45-30 edge there.
Chicago’s aggression has been one of the early-season positives, especially on drives into traffic, but that edge didn’t translate cleanly once the game tightened. The Bulls came into the night averaging 35.7 free throw attempts per game, the best mark in the NBA, and they did win that battle against Boston. Still, with Paul George picking up his fourth foul at 8:57 left in the third and Jayson Tatum following with his fourth at 7:15, Chicago didn’t cash in the way a more seasoned team might.
Instead, the third quarter turned into the stretch that buried them. The Bulls turned it over nine times in the period, and Boston converted those mistakes into 17 points.
Peyton Pritchard was a major reason the game got away, pouring in 19 points in the quarter and knocking down five threes. The Celtics also kept the Bulls from dictating the perimeter, going 8-for-13 from deep in the frame.
That kind of collapse left no path back, the same sort of third-quarter blowup the Bulls saw against the Wizards on Saturday.
The night also exposed a huge swing in bench production. Chicago’s second unit, which was so important in Milwaukee when it scored 59 points behind Leonard Miller’s 19, never found traction in Boston.
Not a single Bulls reserve finished in double figures. Tre Jones had some success attacking the paint, but he ended up with zero assists, a telling snapshot of how little rhythm that group found.
Boston’s bench, on the other hand, was relentless. The Celtics reserves outscored Chicago’s 79-33, with Peyton Pritchard leading the charge on 28 points while shooting 7-for-10 from three. Sam Hauser added three made triples of his own.
Once the game slipped away, Splitter went looking deeper down the roster. He used all three two-way players - Tobe Awaka, Jaylin Sellers, and Jordan Hawkins - and also gave rookie Dailyn Swain his NBA debut.
When a night gets that far out of hand, development becomes the last thing left to chase. The Bulls will move on, but Monday was a sharp reminder of how much work this group still has in a rebuilding year.
In Other News...
Caleb Wilson Is Giving Bulls Fans Real Hope Before A Brutal Test
Caleb Wilsons first week in the league did not begin the way the Bulls imagined when they made him the fourth overall pick in the 2026 draft, but it has already started to look a lot more like the kind of arrival Chicago was hoping for. After a rough NBA debut, the rookie has shown clear growth, and his breakout performance against Washington gave the Bulls a real glimpse of why they were willing to invest so heavily in him.
For a team trying to build something without superstar firepower, that matters. Tiago Splitter has made it clear that every minute has to be earned and that the Bulls will lean on competition and accountability as they navigate a tough stretch ahead, with young players like Matas Buzelis and Noa Essengue learning how quickly roles can change. In that kind of environment, Wilsons development is becoming one of the biggest reasons to keep watching, even before the schedule gets any harsher. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Loss Got Even More Frustrating After Caleb Wilson Confirmation
The closing seconds of the Bulls recent loss now carry even more sting after the NBAs Last Two Minute Report backed up what many watching at the time already suspected. What looked like a decisive defensive stand turned into one of those late-game moments that can linger long after the final buzzer, especially when the result is a defeat Chicago could have used to its advantage.
Caleb Wilson was at the center of the sequence, and the missed whistle became a major talking point because the contact came at a critical point in the shot. For a Bulls team still trying to stack wins in a crowded race, the confirmation does not change the outcome, but it does add another layer of frustration to a loss that already felt hard to swallow. [Read more 🡒]
Bulls Rebuild Is About To Face Its First Real Stress Test
The Bulls have been thrown right into the deep end to open the season, with a tough early slate packed with road games and playoff-caliber opponents. It has already produced some losses and plenty of early growing pains, but rookie Caleb Wilson has given Chicago a bright spot with the kind of promise that can matter in a rebuild. For a young roster, this is the sort of stretch that can either speed up development or expose just how much work remains.
Tiago Splitter now has the challenge of keeping that group steady through the grind, especially with the schedule offering little relief in the near term. Chicago is still sorting out its identity while trying to stay competitive against seasoned teams, and the coming run will go a long way toward showing whether the Bulls can absorb these early hits without letting the season start to slip. [Read more 🡒]