Bulls at Celtics
The Chicago Bulls backed into their playoff spot when the New York Knicks lost on Friday but are still in a battle for positioning in the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics, who host the Bulls on Sunday, are in a battle for draft position at the bottom of the league. Chicago is a game behind the Toronto Raptors in the battle for third place in the East and is kicking off a home-and-home set with the lowly Celtics.
The Celtics are trying to hold off the Utah Jazz in the battle for the fourth-worst record in the NBA and the draft lottery ping-pong balls that go along with it. Boston has dropped three in a row and eight of its last nine and did the Bulls no favors in the playoff race by dropping back-to-back games to the Raptors on Wednesday and Friday. The Celtics dropped a 94-82 decision at Chicago on Jan. 2 as part of a nine-game losing streak that brought an early end to any playoff hopes.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), CSN New England (Boston)
ABOUT THE BULLS (40-32): Chicago was on roll with three wins in four games before getting rolled over at home in a 91-74 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday. “We’re playing pretty good basketball,” center Joakim Noah told reporters. “(Friday) is just a bump in the road. I think we’re all disappointed with the way we played tonight. The edge wasn‘t where it needed to be. I‘m 100 percent sure we‘ll get it back.” The Bulls have held eight straight opponents under 100 points and will play their next four against sub-.500 competition as they attempt to track down the Raptors.
ABOUT THE CELTICS (23-49): Boston shot 52.6 percent from the field at Toronto on Friday but the Celtics still suffered a 105-103 loss. Jerryd Bayless scored 20 points off the bench in the setback, four more than in his previous three games combined. Bayless is not the only player on the roster prone to inconsistency. Leading scorer Jeff Green (16.8 points) has scored over 20 points once in the last seven games and snapped a string of four consecutive games below 50 percent from the field with a 7-of-14 effort on Friday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Green struggled to 11 points on 5-of-18 shooting in the first meeting with the Bulls.
2. Chicago has taken five of the last seven in the series and is holding Boston to 86.9 points in that span.
3. Bulls F Mike Dunleavy is struggling to 2-of-13 from 3-point range in the last five games.