The Celtics were handed their second loss in a row on Saturday, dropping a 126-116 game to the Bulls at United Center. Boston failed to stop the avalanche caused by Zach LaVine (42 points) and Lauri Markkanen (35 points), bringing their regular-season road record to 14-15.
“It is what it is,” Kyrie Irving said, according to NBC Sports Boston. “Like I said, I don’t get frustrated with this type of stuff anymore. It’s just part of the regular season. In the playoffs where we can plan for a team and prepare for a team, I still don’t see anybody beating us in seven games.”
Irving played his part on Saturday, recording 37 points with 10 assists in 40 minutes of action. But the Celtics were dominated by the Bulls 49-32 on the glass, giving Chicago extra opportunities to score and pull away with an impressive home victory.
“It’s basketball, so we’ve got some figuring out to do,” Irving said, according to NBA.com. “Go back, watch film. Obviously, some effort plays where we really could’ve covered for one another. Just execution on both ends of the floor. Being able to give each other space, make basketball plays, read plays, just play the game at a high level. Obviously, these last two games, we haven’t done that at the level we’ve been capable of. We have to continue to do better.”
Boston holds the fifth-best record in the East at 37-23, currently trailing the No. 1 seed Bucks by 8.5 games. They have 22 more games to position themselves for the postseason.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division today:
- Raptors guard Danny Green discussed a variety of subjects with HoopsHype’s Alex Kennedy, including Toronto’s new additions of Marc Gasol and Jeremy Lin, the future of Kawhi Leonard, his post-career plans and more. Green is in his first season with the Raptors after spending the last eight years with San Antonio, which included an NBA championship in 2014.
- The Celtics‘ up-and-down play has generated some internal competition between Kyrie Irving and Terry Rozier, who work together to provide some of the most intimidating point guard play in the NBA. “I’ve been saying it since I joined and played with [Irving]…he’s like a big brother that I want everything that he got,” Rozier said, according to Chris Mannix of NBC Sports Boston. “It’s never hating on him or nothing like that, but it’s just I want everything you got. So, I’m going to challenge him every day and he’s going to challenge me.”
- Former Knicks guard Derrick Rose showed the team he can still play in the Timberwolves’ 115-104 win in Madison Square Garden on Friday. Rose, who’s has a resurgent season with Minnesota, tallied 20 points and three steals off the bench against the Knicks. “It’s great, it’s always great playing here,” Rose said, as relayed by Zach Braziller of the New York Post. “The fans are great here, and I know it felt good just being back in the league and playing the way I normally play, playing with that aggression.”