Observations: Vučević, White, LaVine lead Bulls past Celtics

In the first game with fans since March 10, 2020, the Bulls used Nikola Vučević's fourth career triple-double to defeat a Boston Celtics team playing without Jaylen Brown and Robert Williams 121-99.

Here are nine observations:

1. The Nikola Vučević-Daniel Theis frontcourt pairing is starting to show some chemistry. Both big men are smart passers and skilled shooters. They again showed aptitude playing in high-low situations. And they’re interchangeable, which plays into their abilities to read the game and read the floor. Vučević had seven points and five assists in his first rotational stint alone, and Theis added five first-quarter points as the Bulls started well for the second straight game. Theis almost had a double-double in his 28 minutes as the Bulls prevailed on the glass 52-47.

2. At least for now, Javonte Green has supplanted Denzel Valentine and Ryan Arcidiacono in the rotation. This is no small detail given the stakes of these games. Green got his first extended look when he injected defensive energy into the second half of the loss to the 76ers and has been the low-minute 10th man for Billy Donovan. Green even hit his first 3-pointer since February 17 -- when he played for the Celtics. He only logged four first-half minutes before going back in for mop-up time in the fourth but made the critical minutes in the first stint count.

3. After easing into his first game back, Zach LaVine looked more aggressive offensively. He took 10 of his 24 shots before halftime, including one of his patented quick flurries by knocking down a 14-footer and a 3-pointer in 23 seconds. In the second half, he did it again, sinking a 3-pointer and driving for a dunk in a 24-second span. Even better, LaVine paired well with Coby White in the first half. White sank four of his seven 3-pointers in the first half en route to 25 points. Regardless of whether White is the starting point guard next season, he’s an important core piece. He and LaVine flashing dynamic scoring in the same game is a good thing. LaVine also finished with 25 points, the first time both players hit that level since March 3 in New Orleans.

"I'm getting better," LaVine said. "Each quarter has been helping me, just adjusting. It's tough though. I was out 22-23 days without doing anything. I practiced once or twice. Just didn't have any time to waste. I'll find my rhythm eventually, but I'm starting to feel really good."

4. For the second straight game, the defense showed some teeth. In some instances, it came from unlikely sources. On one possession, Lauri Markkanen found himself on an island, isolated on Jayson Tatum. Markkanen ably moved his feet and Tatum settled for a long, contested 2-pointer, which he missed. On another possession, Vučević blocked Tristan Thompson’s power move down low after Thompson initially appeared to gain a step on the big man. Vučević promptly buried a 3-pointer at the other end. On a third possession, White blocked Kemba Walker’s shot from behind. The Bulls held their second straight opponent under 100 points.

"(Coach) Billy (Donovan) has been preaching the same thing all year. I think we're just figuring it out and we're communicating a lot better," LaVine said. "A lot of the vet guys like G-Temp (Garrett Temple) and Thad (Young) and now even Theis coming in, they're playing a big role with communication and things like that. We're laying it on the line. We're out there sprinting back, doing all the hustle plays or whatever we can do because of the situation we're in. Hopefully we can carry this on for as long as we're playing this year and into next year having that mentality because that's the way you can win basketball games."

5. For the second straight meeting, the Bulls bottled up Tatum. After shooting 3-for-17 in these teams’ last meeting, Tatum finished 3-for-15 for nine points. He missed all seven 3-point attempts. And as for a more likely defensive source, Patrick Williams started on Tatum and did a stellar job. But Williams also showed advanced defensive instincts on several rotations, finishing with two steals and disrupting several other possessions. Temple also turned in his typically stout work on his turns on Tatum.

"We just really tried to send two people at him constantly," Donovan said. "I think we’ve gotten hurt during the course of the season whether it was Trae Young going for 42 or Joel Embiid going for 50. We’ve had to learn how to do some things to maybe guard some of these elite guys who are maybe a handful in open space or isolated one-on-one. I think what we try to do as much as possible was send a crowd, but I think you have to give Patrick and Garrett a lot of credit just in terms of their effort. When you are playing against those kind of guys, you can’t do it one-on-one. It’s got to be collectively as a group.”

6.  Vučević cycled through so many defenders that Celtics coach Brad Stevens turned to seldom-used Tacko Fall for a second-half stint. Vučević had his way with Thompson and Luke Kornet early and often. It wasn't necessarly scoring, but the big man repeatedly burned Celtics' double-teams with deft passing. With 18 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, Vučević posted his fourth career triple-double and first by a Bull since Jimmy Butler on April 6, 2017.

"Man, he's so much help," LaVine said. "It's a very, very assertive big man that can do it all. And our chemistry is getting better and better."

Vučević took his big night in stride, crediting teammates.

"They were really being aggressive double-teaming the post. They did a lot of switching also on the pick-and-rolls if I was rolling. They had a lot of different coverages and we were able to exploit that a little bit. And guys were doing a good job of getting into open spaces and knocking down shots," he said. "The way I play, I always try to make the best read I can whether it’s me attacking and scoring or making the right pass. That’s what I take a lot of pride in doing."

7. For three quarters, the Bulls excelled in two areas in which they've struggled all season -- turnovers and fouling. They had just four turnovers and five fouls at halftime and only five turnovers and 12 fouls through three quarters. Then, the fourth quarter happened. The Bulls started to limp to the finish line. At one point, Vučević and White committed brutal turnovers on successive possessions as the Celtics opened the fourth with a 16-4 run to make an easy game tense. But the Bulls righted the ship and still only finished with nine turnovers.

"I give our guys a lot of credit," Donovan said. "They hung in there competitively and battled. You knew they were going to kind of put their foot down and try to get back in the game quickly in the fourth and they did do that. We had a lot of empty possessions. We fouled a lot in the fourth. But I think the guys really responded well with five or six minutes to go, and we put together some stops and some scores and we able to extend out the lead."

8. The way LaVine finished this game is encouraging, especially considering he played a back-to-back set of games coming off an 11-game absence due to a positive COVID-19 test. When the Celtics pulled within eight, LaVine drove for an emphatic dunk. Even better, LaVine stole a Marcus Smart pass on the ensuing possession and White buried his seventh 3-pointer at the other end. Suddenly, an eight-point lead swelled to 13. And it quickly ballooned back to 20 on a LaVine 3-pointer.

"We huddled up and said, 'Let's put a stop to this,'" LaVine said. "We understand what we got to do and we started executing some plays and we made some big shots. I had the dunk. Coby made a big 3, made a layup. Vooch scored, and I wanted to make sure we put them away for sure. So we closed the game out really well -- as a unit, not just one person."

9. This is the offensive potential that management envisioned when it swung the trade for Vučević. The Bulls averaged 121.5 points in this back-to-back set of games. White landed in catch-and-shoot situations, playing off the defensive attention that LaVine and Vučević demand. LaVine attacked at times the Bulls needed a big basket.

"We never really had a chance to play together for an extended time. When I first got here, Zach had those ankle injuries. And he missed time because of the health and safety protocol. Just never really had time to kind of mesh together," Vučević said. "I feel like you know we were so looking forward to it once he got back and I got back. We’re really excited to be playing together and hopefully it gets us to the play-in game. We just talked about how we wanted to finish the season strong and play well and do what we can. It’s been great. I think he and I fit well together. There have been signs of that already where it shows how we can be efficient. And I think we’re just going to continue to grow as a duo."

Standings update: None of the teams clustered around the Bulls played. The Bulls moved to within three games of the 10th-place Wizards in the race for the final play-in spot. With five games remaining, the Bulls own the tiebreaker over the Wizards,

Next up: At Detroit on Sunday. The Pistons, who have lost seven of nine and are resting many regular rotation players, will be finishing a back-to-back with a first game against the 76ers.

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