The NBA in-season tournament has brought some sizzle to early-season games that might not otherwise attract attention beyond diehard basketball fans.
Tuesday night’s Bulls-Celtics matchup featured some tension between the teams’ head coaches due to the tournament’s rules regarding point differentials. Boston came into the game needing to win by at least 23 points to move ahead of the Magic and Nets in the Eastern Conference Group C standings. All three teams have a 3–1 record in the tournament.
With their 124–97 victory, the Celtics advanced to the quarterfinal round. However, Bulls coach Billy Donovan didn’t like the strategy applied by Boston coach Joe Mazzulla to gain the point differential necessary to overtake Orlando and Brooklyn.