Celtics at Bulls
Rajon Rondo collected 17 points and 11 assists in the first half of a home-and-home set against the Chicago Bulls but will be with the broadcast team in street clothes for the back end when Boston Celtics visit the Bulls on Monday. Rondo has been sitting out back-to-backs since returning from knee surgery and will help out with some analysis on the Celtics television broadcast this time. Chicago took the opener 107-102 behind D.J. Augustin’s career-high 33 points.
The victory moved the Bulls within one game of the Toronto Raptors for the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference and 1 1/2 games clear of the fifth-place Brooklyn Nets. Augustin has become a key part of the offense since joining the team in December and provides at least some of the points the team missed when Derrick Rose was lost for the season. “I believe in myself, man,” Augustin told reporters. “I’m a basketball player. I always thought of myself as a pretty good basketball player. … Just having confidence in myself, my teammates giving me confidence, and just being comfortable.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE CELTICS (23-50): Boston coach Brad Stevens got his team to fight through another close game only to fall short, giving the Celtics four straight losses and nine in the last 10 games. “I just talked about it in the locker room,” Stevens told reporters. “We can’t sugar coat it. We can’t say, ‘It’s nice to be close,’ and we have all year. But at the end of the day, it is what it is from a record standpoint.” Boston owns the fifth-worst record in the NBA and is a half-game better than the Utah Jazz for the fourth-worst mark.
ABOUT THE BULLS (41-32): Chicago had an eight-game streak of holding opponents under 100 points come to an end on Sunday but received another strong effort from Joakim Noah with 13 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds as the offense shot 52.9 percent from the field. Noah didn’t hesitate to heap praise on Augustin for cashing in some of those assists. “He’s been great,” Noah told reporters. I’m really happy that he’s part of this team. As soon as he came in he fit right away. … Plays well in the big moment. We wouldn’t be in this position right now if it wasn’t for him.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics F Jared Sullinger is averaging 17.7 points and nine rebounds over the last three games.
2. Bulls F Mike Dunleavy missed both of his 3-point attempts on Sunday and is 2-of-15 from beyond the arc in the last six games.
3. Chicago has taken the last two meetings at home, including a 94-82 triumph on Jan. 2.