Joe Mazzulla says the quiet part out loud about the ugly win over the injured Bulls

BOSTON — On Saturday night, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown had a 50-point performance that fans will surely remember, as he put on an offensive masterclass that helped the C’s knock off the Los Angeles Clippers, 146-115. On Monday night, the Celtics pulled away with a middle, injured Chicago Bulls en route to an ugly 115-101 victory in a game fans will surely forget.

The beauty of basketball is that both of these wins have the same value on the scoreboard, regardless of how visually appealing they are. And while beating the Bulls wasn’t pretty for the Celtics, the head coach Joe Mazzulla was proud of the way his team battled through the fatigue.

“They didn’t look very good out there,” Macula said with a smile. “But they played hard. I wasn’t happy with how they looked, but I was happy with how they tried and how they played and how they competed, but they looked relatively tired.”

Joe Mazzula joked that the Celtics didn’t look great and were pretty tired, but they still found a way to win:

“They didn’t look good out there, but they played hard.” pic.twitter.com/USh5kEgRHF

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 6, 2026

The Celtics have earned the right to be tired. They just went on a five-game road trip (their longest of the season) and went 4-1 over that nine-day stretch. Sunday was their one day off before hosting the Bulls at TD Garden.

Chicago also had a busy schedule and was missing several key players due to injuries, incl point guard Josh Giddei and center Jalen Smith. This mix of exhaustion and injuries explains why the Bulls mustered just 33 points in the first half.

How the Celtics found a way to beat the Bulls ugly

However, Boston’s troubling defense may have played a bigger role in Chicago’s struggles. The Celtics forced several Bulls turnovers in the first half and then dominated the boards, grabbing 14 offensive rebounds to the Bulls’ two. These stats were why the C’s were able to take a 21 point lead through two quarters despite shooting below 36% from the floor.

“Those are the things you have to (have) — that will help you endure (droughts),” Macula said of Boston’s stout defense and rebounding. “You’ve got to be able to get the ball. You can’t just stretch without it. But, your defense has to stay intact. You’ve got to fight for extra shots. You’ve got to turn guys over and play great defense. So those things you’ve got to keep working and working and for guys to come out and be able to do that, we had the right process for most of the game.”

Joe Mazzula said the Celtics used defense and rebounding to beat the Bulls tonight:

“Our defense kept us in it.” pic.twitter.com/kbvoUHem2R

— Daniel Donabedian (@danield1214) January 6, 2026

The Bulls’ offense woke up in the second half, as they poured in 68 points and even cut the Celtics’ lead to 11 with 4:14 left in the fourth quarter. Boston responded by never letting their lead fall below 10 points the rest of the game.

“For us not to shoot the ball at all in that first half, but to play well defensively, that’s a sign of a mature team,” praised Macula. “And so, it was impressive … the way they were able to compete tonight, I just loved their competitive spirit throughout the game.”

After 48 minutes, neither team had a single player up to 30 points. No team shot over 45% from the field. It’s still a Celtics win at the end of the day, though, and that’s all they care about.

Boston is now 23-12 overall and in second place in the Eastern Conference thanks to his ugly victory. The Celtics have won eight of their last nine contests and hope to keep that momentum going Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets.