Preview: Bulls at Celtics

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[January 22, 2016]  The Chicago Bulls became the latest team to get throttled by the defending NBA champs and the schedule does not let up anytime soon. The Bulls begin a stretch in which they play 10 of 12 games on the road - including two trips to Cleveland - with a visit to Boston on Friday night.

Chicago enters the challenging portion of the slate on a sour note after dropping a 125-94 decision to Golden State at home on Wednesday, the squad's fifth loss in seven games. "It's embarrassing, man," Bulls guard Derrick Rose told reporters after his team gave up its most points in regulation since Nov. 3. "We let go of the rope and stopped communicating. If you don't have communication on the defensive side when you're playing a team like that, it can get ugly." The Celtics have also struggled to get stops of late, having given up an average of 116.7 points in a 1-2 road trip. Guards Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley combined for 40 points in a 115-109 loss at Toronto on Wednesday.

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, WPWR (Chicago), CSN New England (Boston)
 


ABOUT THE BULLS (24-17): Rose was the bright spot in the loss to the Warriors with 29 points and he has scored at least 20 in consecutive games for just the second time this season. The three-time All-Star is averaging 22.3 points on 50.9 percent shooting over a three-game span after missing one contest with knee issues. Rose (18 points) was one of six Chicago players in double figures in a 101-92 win over the Celtics earlier this month.

ABOUT THE CELTICS (22-21): Boston had a six-point lead at halftime in Toronto and it lost a fourth-quarter advantage in an overtime loss at Dallas earlier in the week, more indications that a normally solid defense is not performing when it needs to. "We never adjusted to what they were doing and all of those guys got real comfortable," forward Jae Crowder told the media after the loss to the Raptors. Reserve center Kelly Olynyk is doing his best to keep up on the offensive end by nailing 16-of-26 3-pointers in a six-game stretch and averaging 16.8 points 26.3 minutes over his last four contests.

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BUZZER BEATERS

1. Crowder, whose career scoring average is 7.1 points, has reached double figures in 27 of the last 28 games.

2. Bulls C Pau Gasol had one point on 0-of-8 shooting against the Warriors after scoring a season-high 31 points his previous time out against Detroit.

3. Both teams shoot 43.4 percent from the floor, tied for 23rd in the league.

PREDICTION: Celtics 102, Bulls 99

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