The Chicago Bulls will take on the visiting Boston Celtics in a crucial NBA matchup.
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 Saturday, November 30 (Philippine time). Chicago owns the tiebreaker over Atlanta based on its head-to-head victory over the Hawks.
If Chicago and Cleveland both win, the Bulls would also finish first in Group C if the Cavaliers lose to the Wizards on December 4. 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 the 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 November 19.
“Ultimately, we want to win,” Boston’s Neemias Queta said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s [an NBA] game or a regular-season matchup — we strive for excellence every time we step on the court.”
The Bulls are coming off from a 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 their 126-94 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, November 25. 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.
Porzingis also had two of Boston’s season-high 11 blocked shots during the win.
Their 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 / Reuters)