Bulls vs. Celtics: Score, Highlights, Reaction from 2017 Regular Season

Head coach Fred Hoiberg keeps experimenting with ways to light a fire under his Chicago Bulls, but he can't even seem to get a spark.

The Boston Celtics' Isaiah Thomas scored 22 points and Avery Bradley added 17, as Hoiberg's latest rotation shuffling blew up in his face in a 100-80 loss at TD Garden on Sunday.

The Bulls, masters of the ever-inconsistent and confounding rotations all season, announced before the game that forward Nikola Mirotic would be a healthy scratch. Mirotic had not played in either of Chicago's last two games after averaging 22.7 minutes in 54 appearances this season.

"He told me that I'm out of the rotation," the struggling forward told reporters before the game. "That I need to stay ready, but he didn't give me any expectation that I would [or] when I can play. Just 'stay ready.'

"I know that I'm ready. I know I can help those guys. Of course I've been inconsistent, not just me, all the team up and down—but to be in this kind of situation, out of the rotation, doesn't make sense for me."

Nick Friedell of ESPN.com contextualized Hoiberg's scatterbrained rotation:

Hoiberg spent most of the game throwing rotations at the wall, hoping one would stick. Nothing did. The Bulls went scoreless for the first five minutes and 55 seconds, eventually clanging their way to a nine-point first quarter on 3-of-22 shooting. ESPN offered context to the performance that had Bulls fans remembering their post-Jordan apocalypse:

Things got a little bit better in the second quarter, but not by much. The Bulls went into the halftime break down 46-26, tying the fifth-worst first-half scoring total in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Info. No Bulls starter had more than four points, while Jimmy Butler and Bobby Portis alone combined to shoot 3-of-16 from the field.

Sean Highkin of The Athletic was ready for a full-scale rebuild by the half:

Chicago has dropped a season-worst five games and now sits two games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for the East's final playoff spot. Four of those five losses have come by double figures.

The Celtics took advantage of the Bulls' dysfunction to draw back even with the Washington Wizards for the No. 2 seed. They shot 46.5 percent from the floor and knocked down 16 threes, with Bradley and Thomas doing most of the work before garbage time.

Thomas went over 20 points for the fifth straight game and posted his most efficient outing in more than a month. He made nine of his 14 field goals overall and knocked down four threes, the fourth time in the past five games he's hit at least four. His streak of 44 consecutive games with at least one three-pointer is the longest in Celtics franchise history.

Barstool's Dan Greenberg was impressed by IT's performance:

Bradley seems to be getting back in a rhythm, scoring in double figures for his sixth straight game. After missing the better part of two months, Bradley's return has helped provide some stability to Boston's backcourt rotation.

Marcus Smart, seemingly comfortable as the first guard coming off the bench, added 12 points and six rebounds. Struggling with his shot for most of March, Smart knocked down a pair of threes and seemed more confident with his stroke.

Al Horford also added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists. The Celtics outscored Chicago by 25 points when he was on the floor, by far the best number of the game.

John Karalis of Red's Army complimented Horford's basketball IQ:

Kelly Olynyk, who went for 11 points and nine rebounds off the bench, and Jaylen Brown (11 points) rounded out the double-digit scorers for Boston. The Celtics led by as many as 29 points and never trailed.

Chicago's effort, which got better in the second half, was led by Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine with 13 points apiece. Butler and Dwyane Wade combined for just 13 points, while Hoiberg gave minutes to five different point guards.

Starter Jerian Grant failed to score in his nine minutes of play. Cameron Payne played the best of the bunch with seven points but had five turnovers. Rajon Rondo, Michael Carter-Williams and Isaiah Canaan also got minutes.

The Bulls will have to take a flight to Charlotte for a matchup with the Hornets on Monday. Boston has two days off before hosting the Minnesota Timberwolves.

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Postgame Reaction

Butler talked of the team's frustrations, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): "Nobody likes to lose, so, yeah, I definitely think it's bothering a lot of people. We've got to figure it out. Ain't nobody going to come in here and show us a blueprint on how to win. We've got to go out there and make it happen."

Wade discussed the rotation issues, per Reuters: "We're still experimenting. As I said the other day, we're going to take some lumps. Some of them are going to be big lumps. Some of them going to be small lumps. Tonight was a big one."

Thomas highlighted the battle with Cleveland and Washington atop the East: "With 15, 16 games left we got to play our best basketball because Washington is playing really well right now, Cleveland is not going to play like they have been for the most part so we just got to control our own destiny."