So Sad: Bulls Fall to Celtic 124-97 for their fifth straight defeat.

As the great Bill Murray of Chicago once said, “Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again.”

To end a torturous four-game road trip, the Chicago Bulls drove into TD Garden on Tuesday to play the formidable Boston Celtics. The Bulls, who were already 0-3, had nothing to gain in their group rankings going into their last NBA In-Season Tournament match, and they performed accordingly.

The Bulls’ only real outburst of fury throughout the entire evening came from Billy Donovan, who questioned Joe Mazzula over Andre Drummond’s foul calls in the fourth quarter, with the Celtics leading by 32 points.

Zach LaVine played 24 minutes and had a terrible stat line before being injured early in the game, which cost Chicago the game. Lavine went 1-9 with two points while on the floor, giving the impression that he was done playing for his side.

The Bulls appeared to be sleepwalking through this game right from the start. Sure, there’s a reason why the East-leading Celtics are favorites in the NBA Finals, but Chicago’s effort—or lack thereof—was appalling. After 49 attempts, the Celtics shot almost 43% from three. With 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists, Jaylen Brown led all scorers. Jayson Tatum finished with seven rebounds, four assists, and twenty-one points.

Conversely, the Bulls’ offensive line once again let them down, shooting 43% from the field, 32% from beyond the arc, and 56% from the free-throw line. Remarkably, the guests managed to maintain possession of the ball and only made eight mistakes, which was, to be honest, the most unexpected figure of the evening.

With 19 points apiece, Coby White and DeMar DeRozan shared the team scoring lead. Patrick Williams scored 14 points on 6-10 shooting from the field in a respectable offensive performance.

This abysmal season got even worse against a top-tier Celtics squad. Once again, the Bulls looked to be just going through the motions. While DeRozan recently said he believes the Bulls have the pieces to make a run, games like this, which are a seemingly nightly occurrence, prove otherwise.

What’s On Tap Next?

The depressing truth is that there’s a good chance this losing streak will last for some time. On Thursday, Chicago will play host to the Milwaukee Bucks. After that, the team will play in games against Denver, New Orleans, Milwaukee again, Miami twice, Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Lakers at home.

Perhaps they could utilize the final one to see whether D’Angelo Russell would be a good fit.