Chicago Bulls Fall in Early Hole, Lose to Celtics in NBA Cup Game

For the second time this week, the Chicago Bulls were blown out by the Boston Celtics on the road. Unlike Monday's loss, Friday's game was never particularly close, although the Bulls did tighten the difference in the fourth quarter.

The Celtics (4-1) pulled away early and left no doubt that they are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, easily handling the Bulls in their NBA Cup opener, 125-111. Chicago was inefficient at shooting the ball, turned the ball over 16 times and struggled to defend the paint as the Bulls dropped to 1-5 on the season.

Boston led by as many as 32 points in the first half. The Celtics outscored the Bulls in the paint, 58-40. With point differential serving as the primary tiebreaker in NBA Cup group play, the Bulls battled down the stretch and won the fourth quarter by 11 points.

Caleb Wilson led the way for Chicago with 23 points, thanks to a 6-of-11 shooting day from beyond the arc. Since starting his NBA career by shooting 5-of-28 (17.9%) over his first six games, Wilson has made 9 of his 19 triples (47.4%) in his past two games. He also added five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal.

Norman Powell chipped in 16 points, while Matas Buzelis (14 points), Josh Giddey (13) and Tre Jones (12) all finished in double figures. Jalen Smith had 12 rebounds in addition to five points.

Payton Pritchard, who scored 28 points against the Bulls on Monday, also led Boston in scoring in Friday's game. Pritchard dropped 30 points off the bench and Jayson Tatum finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Celtics got off to a hot start, continuing from where they left off on Monday. Boston scored 10 of its first 11 points in the paint, then Tatum knocked down a three-pointer to cap off an 8-0 run and force Tiago Splitter to call a timeout.

Buzelis and Wilson scored the first nine points for the Bulls, and their connection was evident early. Two days after Wilson threw an alley-oop to Buzelis in transition, Buzelis returned the favor. He took the ball up the court before finding Wilson on a clean lob.

Boston's offense continued to operate as a well-oiled machine. By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics had made two-thirds of their shot attempts, scored 24 points in the paint and held a 44-25 lead overall. Boston also forced seven Chicago turnovers and gave the ball away just once.

Sloppy turnovers and mistakes galore destroyed any hopes of the Bulls keeping it close. Boston took advantage with transition points, offensive rebounds and three-point baskets as its lead exceeded the 30-point margin.

The Celtics led by 29 points at the half, with 20 coming from Pritchard.

Wilson knocked down a three to start the second half, and thanks to offensive rebounding and second-chance points, the Bulls were able to cut their deficit to 20 points midway through the third.

The No. 4 overall pick caught fire from deep after halftime, making five of his nine shots from long range in the second half.

Unfortunately for the Bulls, their difficult early-season schedule is still just getting started. Chicago is now three games into its 10-game stretch against playoff teams from a season ago, with matchups against the Philadelphia 76ers, the San Antonio Spurs, the Atlanta Hawks, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Cleveland Cavaliers remaining between Monday and Nov. 16.