Celtics, Bulls clash in important NBA Cup game for both

FILE–DeMar DeRozan #11 of the Chicago Bulls knocks the ball aways from Al Horford #42 of the Boston Celtics in the first half of an NBA Game at the United Center on March 23, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Quinn Harris/Getty Images/AFP 

The Chicago Bulls will take on the visiting Boston Celtics in a crucial NBA Cup matchup Friday.

Boston, Chicago and Atlanta are all 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Group C standings. Cleveland is 1-1 and Washington is 0-3.

The Bulls will be the Group C champion if they beat the Celtics and the Hawks beat the Cavaliers on Friday night. Chicago owns the tiebreaker over Atlanta based on its head-to-head victory over the Hawks.

READ: NBA: Porzingis makes presence felt in Celtics’ return vs Clippers

If Chicago and Cleveland both win Friday, the Bulls would also finish first in Group C if the Cavaliers lose to the Wizards on Tuesday. That scenario would leave Chicago as the lone 3-1 team in Group C.

If the Bulls and Cavs both finish 3-1, Cleveland will be the Group C champion based on its head-to-head victory over Chicago. The Bulls would need to win the point-differential tiebreaker against other 3-1 non-group champions to earn the Eastern Conference’s lone wild-card spot.

A victory over Chicago plus a Cleveland victory over Atlanta would give the Celtics the Group C championship. Boston owns the tiebreaker against Cleveland because the Celtics beat the Cavaliers 120-117 on Nov. 19.

“Ultimately, we want to win,” Boston’s Neemias Queta said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s (an NBA Cup) game or a regular-season matchup — we strive for excellence every time we step on the court.”

READ: NBA: Celtics end Cavaliers’ 15-0 start

The Bulls are coming off Wednesday’s 133-119 loss to the Magic. Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 21 points, and Nikola Vucevic added 19 points and 11 rebounds.

Chicago’s Lonzo Ball returned to action against the Magic after missing 15 games with a sprained wrist. He scored six points and had four steals and two blocked shots in 15 minutes.

“It was really good to have him back,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “I think he’s going to help us. I give him a lot of credit for the work he put in to get himself back ready to play. It’s amazing to me that he can come out the first night out and play as well as he did in a limited amount of time.”

Boston has been off since Monday’s 126-94 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers. That game marked the season debut for Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis, who had been recovering from offseason foot surgery.

Porzingis had 16 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes against the Clippers.

“I felt better than expected,” Porzingis said. “Obviously the first wind is pretty crazy, you know, lungs burning, legs burning, everything. But after that, it was decent and just normal. It has been killing me inside not to be able to be out there, but it was worth the wait.”

Porzingis also had two of Boston’s season-high 11 blocked shots during the win.

“We have to get better at protecting the rim, which we saw a little bit of that (Monday),” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I think when we’re fully healthy, it allows us to play different lineups, like more double-big situations where protecting the rim is easier because of the type of versatility we have out there.”

Monday’s victory extended Boston’s winning streak to six games. The Celtics have an 8-1 road record this season, while the Bulls are 2-6 at home. –Field Level Media