Bulls crushed 105-89 by Celtics

CHICAGO _ OK, so maybe the Celtics were smart to rest Kyrie Irving against the Bulls. And smart to keep Marcus Smart as part of their second unit.

Boston didn't need its elite point guard to crush the Bulls 105-89 on Monday night.

The Bulls fell to 21-42, losing for the 14th time in their last 17 games as they kinda, sorta try to keep pace with the Nets, Hawks, Magic, etc.

This one was over before new starter Bobby Portis broke a sweat.

Boston scored the first seven points and took to a 26-5 lead on an Al Horford dunk.

The score was 35-16 after a quarter that must have felt more like a five-hour flight to coach Fred Hoiberg, who had to suffer through several indignities: His team allowed multiple alley-oops, letting the Celtics assist on 10 of its 15 baskets. On the other end, Cameron Payne surrendered the ball with no defenders on him.

The second quarter started with Denzel Valentine firing a behind-the-back pass to ... no one. (He expected Cristiano Felicio to cut harder to the hoop.)

The Bulls trailed 55-29 at the break, leaving the court to a smattering of boos.

Portis, making his second start of the season, finished with just seven points and six rebounds in 27 minutes.

He got the nod partially as a reward for outplaying the low-post Felicio but more so because Hoiberg wanted to see how he'd mesh with Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, David Nwaba and Lauri Markkanen.

"We're experimenting with different lineups," Hoiberg said. "With Bobby and Lauri out there, we're gonna be small, so we have to gang rebound, especially against a team with athletic wings (such as Boston). This gives us an opportunity to spread teams out, which is the direction the league is going. I'm excited to see what we have."

That first unit got drubbed by a Celtics starting five that was devoid of Irving, who has knee soreness and could miss a few more games.

"It doesn't sound like a long-term concern," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said, "but he certainly could last throughout the week."

Shane Larkin started at the point for the Celtics (45-20), playing 16 efficient minutes. He hit all three shot attempts _ all 3s _ and finished with four rebounds and four assists.