The Boston Celtics sent Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond to the line six times in the fourth quarter of a 27-point blowout Tuesday.
It wasn’t a mistake — quite the opposite. A win wasn’t enough for the Celtics. In order to advance in the In-Season Tournament, they needed to beat the Bulls by as many points as possible to secure a high point differential and claim the wild-card seed.
So even after racking up a 34-point lead, the Celtics never took their foot off the gas. They kept their starters in the game until the final whistle. And midway through the fourth quarter, they began hacking Drummond — a career 47.7% shooter from the line — in an attempt to keep the Bulls from scoring.
For coach Billy Donovan, the tactic was a step too far. He walked to midcourt several times to confront Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla as he directed his team to foul Drummond.
“Andre is a veteran guy,” Donovan said. “Tonight, I told (Mazzulla), I was like, ‘What are we doing here?’ I get it on keeping your guys in, wanting to get in, the league’s made this a big deal. I just thought it was putting Andre in a tough spot in a 30-point game. I didn’t like that.”
The tactic also worked. Drummond went 1-for-6 from the line before Donovan pulled him from the game. And the Celtics advanced to the quarterfinals with the win. But Mazzulla still tracked down Donovan after the game to apologize, offering to speak with Drummond as well.
With the loss, the Bulls slipped to 5-14. Here are three other takeaways from the game.
1. Bulls fall behind by double digits in the first quarter for the fifth time this season.
Yes, this is a broken record — the Bulls are not a good first-quarter team. That trend continued in Boston.
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Tuesday’s start was not exactly sluggish. Yet the Bulls still trailed by 11 points by the end of the first quarter, marking the fifth time they’ve trailed by double digits after 12 minutes this season. The Bulls shot only 30.8% from the field in the quarter. Despite taking a 3-point lead and tying the game five times, they couldn’t keep pace for longer than six minutes before slipping behind.
2. Patrick Williams continues his scoring streak in a physical performance.
Donovan chose to start Patrick Williams for a second game in a row despite the return of Alex Caruso, who came off the bench.
There’s still plenty of room for Williams to grow, but Tuesday he showcased several improvements — especially in the first half.
Williams went 4-for-6 from the field before halftime, muscling his way to the rim several times and responding quickly to a brutal block by Al Horford in the second quarter. He scored four points in the second half after the strong start but still finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two blocks and a steal.
The Bulls are hungry for silver linings this season. Growth — even in moderation — for Williams could be a welcome positive.
3. Zach LaVine exits early after a tepid scoring night.
After a tepid performance in the first three quarters of the blowout, LaVine was ruled out of the fourth quarter with a right foot injury. He has been on the injury report for the last week after suffering a right foot sprain during a home game against the Miami Heat that forced him to miss last week’s game against the Thunder in Oklahoma City.
LaVine didn’t score in Boston until there were 17 seconds left in the first half, going 1-for-7 from the field and 0-for-2 from 3-point range. He did not take a shot in the third quarter, and a single steal was the only offensive statistic he registered in the frame.
After the game, LaVine said he has been managing pain through the last three games. The Bulls have not determined if they need to shut the guard down to expedite his recovery.