CHICAGO — You can’t tell by looking at the box score that Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is playing in pain.
Coming off a strong 26-point performance against the Utah Jazz, LaVine hasn’t shown any visible signs of distress since suffering torn ligaments in his left thumb one week ago.
But LaVine can feel the difference, even if it’s not noticeable to the naked eye.
“I can’t shoot the same,” he said before Monday’s 128-114 comeback win over the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. “I’m handling the ball and stuff like that. I’m out here doing everything I can to help the team. Obviously I can go and play through the pain. I can still be effective in the game. But once I get my feeling for my touch back, then I’ll be much happier.”
It took a while for LaVine to get that feeling, so he counted on his teammates Monday to pick up the load. DeMar DeRozan did it early, and rookie Ayo Dosunmu was unstoppable in his first extended minutes, hitting six straight in six attempts, including a 3-pointer with 6:53 left that capped a 17-2 run to erase a 14-point deficit entering the fourth quarter.
The Bulls outscored the Celtics 39-11 in the fourth after trailing by 19 with 2:28 to play in the third. DeRozan finished with 37 points, LaVine added 26 and Dosunmu scored 14 in 22 minutes.
In a wildly entertaining game with no off switch, the Bulls couldn’t stop Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (28 points), while the Celtics couldn’t find a way to cool off DeRozan.
The late comeback echoed the ending of Thursday’s 104-103 loss to the New York Knicks. Alex Caruso’s steal led to an alley-oop slam from Dosunmu to Derrick Jones Jr., and a three-point play and a lay-in by LaVine cut the deficit to two with 8 minutes left. They traded blows the rest of the way.
The Bulls came out like they were competing in a 3-point shooting contest with Larry Bird, hitting five 3s in their first five shots, including three by Lonzo Ball. They hit 7 of 9 3-pointers in the first quarter but trailed 35-34, then burst ahead in the second quarter with DeRozan hitting his first four shots in a 12-0 run.
But Brown answered back with a 10-point run of his own and the Bulls cooled off, trailing 67-59 at halftime in spite of DeRozan’s 9-of-12 shooting. LaVine went 1-for-6 in the half before turning it on down the stretch.
Coach Billy Donovan said beforehand it’s too early to say the Bulls have established a defensive identity, but certainly that has been their calling card in the first two weeks. They forced 20 turnovers against the Jazz in Saturday’s win at the United Center.
“We’ve made a huge emphasis because of our lack of size that we’re going to have to scramble and help each other,” Donovan said before Monday’s game. “We’re not going to be able to always turn people over the way we turned Utah over. (Point guard Mike) Conley wasn’t out there, in fairness to them, and that probably put a lot on Donovan Mitchell having to score and (be a playmaker).
“I’ve always felt like being in college, we pressed all the time. So a lot of times the offense has a lot to do with how much the ball is being turned over.”
That said, Donovan added the Bulls must continue to work on their rebounding; they ranked second to last entering Monday.
“I just don’t think in this league you can be one-dimensional, where you’re a great defensive team but you’re just really poor offensively or vice versa,” he said. “You’ve got to be both. And it’s early and we’re still finding our way, being young. But we have to be better defensively.”
The absence of Patrick Williams, who suffered a dislocated left wrist that will force him to miss four to six months, is a problem that one player can’t solve. The Bulls got contributions from everyone Monday, including Dosunmu and Jones off the bench.
“We’ve just got to try and pick up the spots where he would help us out,” Caruso said of Williams. “He’s a really good supplemental offensive player for us. He was probably having one of his better offensive games after he came back, that game (against the Knicks) he got hurt. It was really unfortunate.
“His defense, he’s a quick small forward, big wing guy that matched up with Julius Randle, Jayson Tatum, guys like that. So we’re going to have to do a better job of helping each other on defense. We’ll miss him a lot in that area, and his rebounding has really been beneficial for us too.”
The Bulls eventually will get guard Coby White back, but not in the immediate future. White is starting to work with player development personnel in controlled situations, though there’s no word on when he’ll be cleared to start practicing.
“He is at least doing some contact, so that’s encouraging,” Donovan said. “As long as he responds well, the next step after that would be to inject him into practice. From today to when that happens, I’m not 100% sure.”
No matter how this season goes, LaVine said Monday it has been the most enjoyable stretch of his career.
“By far,” he said. “Especially because people know the struggles I’ve had through my career, and getting out to a hot start like this with a team that we know is really competitive, we’re all buying in and have a really close-knit team and have all bonded well.
“It’s the most fun I’ve had.”
