Kristaps Porzingis Breaks Down What Led to Celtics' Frustrating Loss to Bulls

The Boston center unpacked the team's fourth home loss of the season.

Dec 19, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) drives to the basket against Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) and center Kristaps Porzingis (8) in the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

In a bit of a shocker Thursday night, the reigning champion Boston Celtics fell to the Chicago Bulls, at home in TD Garden, 117-108.

In a rarity this season, Boston struggled with its shooting against another high-volume 3-point squad. The Celtics' talent helped the club get as close as three points shy of Chicago late into the contest's fourth quarter. Then, a pair of technical fouls assessed to head coach Joe Mazzulla and three-time All-Star Celtics small forward Jaylen Brown essentially killed the club's comeback.

“He questioned our integrity multiple times during that same sequence,” league official Tony Brothers said during the postgame pool report.

Starting Boston center Kristaps Porzingis unpacked how that moment helped lead to the team's fourth home loss of the season, per Jay King of The Athletic.

“It wasn’t our best moment right there,” Porzingis reflected. “We had to maintain our cool because the game was still right there (to win).”

The defeat drops Boston to a still-great 21-6 record on the season, good for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, only two games behind the 23-4 Cleveland Cavaliers. Meanwhile, now riding high on a three-game win streak, the Bulls rise to a 13-15 record and the East's No. 9 seed — tied by record with the No. 8-seeded Indiana Pacers.

In the loss, Porzingis scored 20 points on 7-of-17 shooting from the field (2-of-7 from deep) and 4-of-4 shooting from the charity stripe, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked three shots across 36 minutes. Five-time All-Star Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum paced Boston with 31 points on 10-of-22 shooting from the floor (4-of-11 from long range) and 7-of-9 foul line shooting, 10 rebounds, four assists, and a pair of steals.

Two-time All-Star Bulls small forward Zach LaVine led the way for Chicago, scoring 36 points on an efficient 11-of-19 shooting line (6-of-11 from deep) and 8-of-9 from the foul line, along with six rebounds and four assists. Two-time All-Star Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, another veteran trade chip on the club's roster, notched a 16-point, 14-rebound double-double against Porzingis.

Boston dropped just its fourth home game of the season, but remains a solid 11-4 at TD Garden and 10-2 on the road.

Luckily for the Celtics, Boston has another opportunity to right the ship against Chicago immediately. They'll play tomorrow, at the United Center, in what just became must-watch TV.

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