Back2Back: Stop Playing, Boston Celtics Again gives Reassurance

Four Lessons as Celtics beat Bulls in return from All-Star break

CHICAGO — There was some trouble for the Celtics in the second quarter, but they quickly bounced back from those struggles. The C’s ended with a dominant 129-112 win over the Bulls on Thursday at the United Center in their first game back from the All-Star break. Boston improved its league-best record to 44-12 while the Bulls fell to 26-30.

The Celtics looked like their dominant selves right from tip-off, racking up steals and blocks in an impressive defensive effort. It looked like it was going to be another C’s blowout when they built up a 16-point lead early on. But the Bulls stormed back as their offense clicked in the second quarter, putting up 39 points, so a Celtics lead was instead a deficit by halftime.

While third quarters have been a struggle for the C’s at times, they responded perfectly Thursday. They dominated in a 37-21 quarter, draining 3s while keeping the Bulls off-balance. The Celtics never let the Bulls back into it from there as their lead peaked at 21 points Thursday. So the Celtics quickly shook off any rust from the break to pick up the victory.

Derrick White impressed right from tip-off as he finished with 28 points and three blocks. Jayson Tatum finished with 25 points and seven rebounds while Jaylen Brown added another 21 points. Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls.

The Celtics take on the Knicks at :30 p.m. Saturday at Madison Square Garden for their next game. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Chicago:

Just a blip: When the Celtics impressed defensively in the first quarter, they were everywhere as they racked up blocks and steals. But the Bulls kept attacking the paint in the second, which allowed them to have the 39-point frame. The Celtics responded well from there, giving up just 50 points in the second half. Along with their shot-making, they were able to cruise to the victory Thursday after some early trouble.

Draining it: It’s no secret any team prepping for the Celtics must account for 3-pointers. Part of Joe Mazzulla’s basketball philosophy is based on math, and he wants his teams putting up plenty of 3s. Thursday was one of those games where the makes came easy for the Celtics as they finished 23-for-47 (48.9%) from behind the arc. They cooled some, but they started 20-for-36 on Thursday as that was a huge part of why they built their huge lead. It wasn’t quite the franchise record 27 makes in a single game, but the Celtics filled it up from deep.

Doing it all: At this point, it’s not necessarily a surprise when White picks up multiple blocks in a game — he’s arguably the best shot-blocking guard in the league. But when the 6-foot-4 White got up and blocked the 6-foot-10 Vuceivc on a post-up, that turned some heads. That was part of an impressive overall night for White as he was seemingly everywhere on the court. White continued to show off his confident 3-pointer, finishing 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, as that has turned into a trusty weapon.

Making debuts: While Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer have been with the team ever since the trade deadline, Thursday was the first time both were active. They didn’t see any action as part of the regular Celtics rotation, but because it was a blowout Thursday, both players were able to make their debuts with their new team. Tillman finished with two points in his limited time while Springer played a couple minutes.