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Chicago Bulls (24-29) at Boston Celtics (34-19)
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #54, Home Game #27
TV: NBCSB, Chicago Sports Network, NBA-LP
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub,  104.3 The Score, Sirius XM
TD Garden


Probable Starting Matchups
Point Guard
vs
Derrick White vs Anfernee Simons

Shooting Guard
vs
Baylor Scheierman  vs  Jaden Ivey

Small Forward
vs
Jaylen Brown vs Isaac Okoro

Power Forward
vs
Sam Hauser vs  Matas Buzelis

Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Guerschon Yabusele

Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Nikola Vucevic
Jordan Walsh

2-Way Players
Ron Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
John Tonje

Injuries/Out
Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Neemias Queta (ankle) probable
Sam Hauser (back) probable

Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla

Bulls Reserves
Rob Dillingham
Leonard Miller
Nick Richards
Collin Sexton
Patrick Williams

2-Way Players
Yuki Kawamura
Mac McClung
Lachlin Olbrich

Injuries/Out
Zach Collina (toe)  out
Noa Essengue (shoulder) out
Josh Giddey (hamstring) doubtful
Tre Jones (hamstring)  doubtful
Jalen Smith (calf) doubtful 

Head Coach
Billy Donovan

Game Notes
The Celtics host the Chicago Bulls for the third, and final, game between them this season.  The Celtics won the first game in Boston 115-101 on January 5.  They lost the second game 114-111 in Chicago on January 24.  The Celtics won the series 3-1 last season.  The Bulls haven't won the season series with the Celtics since 2020-21. The  Celtics have won 8 of the last 10 games against the Bulls.  The Celtics are 138-111 overall all time against the Bulls and they are 79-40 in games played in Boston. 

The Bulls didn't change much in the off season, but they made 7 trades at the trade deadline so this Bulls team is very different from the one the Celtics faced in January.  They traded Nikola Vucevic to Boston for Anfernee Simons. They traded Emanuel Miller for Dario Saric, who they traded with Kevin Huerter for Jaden Ivey and Mike Conley.  They traded Conley and Coby White for Collin Sexton and Ousmene Dieng.  They traded Dieng for Nick Richards.  They traded Dalen Terry for Guerschon Yabusele.  They traded Ayo Dosunmo and Julian Phillips for Leonard Miller and Rob Dillingham. 

The Celtics are 2nd in the East, 5.5 games behind 1st place Detroit. By virtue of the Knicks loss to the Pacers on Tuesday, the Celtics are half a game ahead of 3rd place New York, 1.5 games ahead of 4th place Cleveland, 2.5 games ahead of 5th place Toronto, 4 games ahead of 6th place Philadelphia and 5.5 games ahead of 7th place Orlando. The Celtics are 23-13 against Eastern Conference opponents. They are 17-9 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They lost their last game after winning the previous 5 games.

The Bulls are 11th in the East.  They are 16 games behind 1st place Detroit, 6.5 games behind 6th place Philadelphia, 3.5 games behind 8th place Miami and 1 game behind 10th place Charlotte.  They are 1.5 games ahead of 12th place Milwaukee.  They are 16-21 against Eastern Conference opponents.  They are 9-18 on the road and 2-8 in their last 10 games.  They have lost their last 5 games.

This is the 3rd game of a 3 game home stand. They beat Miami in come from behind thriller in the first game and lost the 2nd game in a lackluster effort against the Knicks on Super Bowl Sunday.  This game takes them into the All Star Break.  After the break, they will head out on a 4 game Western road trip through Golden State, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix, and Denver.

This is the Bulls final game before the All Star break also.  After the break,  they will have a 7 game home stand where they will host Toronto, Detroit, New York, Charlotte, Portland, Milwaukee and Oklahoma City.  After the home stand,  they head out on a 5 game Western road trip through Phoenix, Sacramento, Golden State, the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers. 

For the Celtics, Jayson Tatum remains out as he rehabs from the Achilles tear he suffered in last year's playoffs against the Knicks. Sam Hauser missed Monday's game due to lower-back spasms and is listed as probable for this game. Neemias Queta is also listed as probable due to a sprained ankle.   I would guess that Baylor Scheierman would get the start at shooting guard unless Joe goes with the double bigs again. 

For the Bulls, Zach Collins (toe) and Noa Essengue (shoulder) are both listed as out.  Josh Giddey is doubtful for this game with a hamstring injury and will likely sit out his 8th straight game.  Tre Jones is also doubtful for this game with a hamstring injury and will miss his 11th straight game.   Jalen Smith is also doubtful for this game and is expected to miss his 3rd straight game with a calf injury. 

Key Matchups
vs
Derrick White vs Anfernee Simons
Simons returns to the TD Garden where just a week ago , he was playing for the Celtics.  He is averaging 14.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 2.5 assists while shooting 44.4% from the field and 39.1% from beyond the arc.  In his last game with the Bulls on Monday, he finished with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 block while shooting 58.8% from the field and 22.2% from beyond the arc.  Hopefully he gets a nice welcome from the Celtics fans and then forgets how to play basketball. 

vs
Sam Hauser vs  Matas Buzelis
Buzelis is averaging 15.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field and 37.0% from beyond the arc. In the first 2 games against the Celtics, he averaged 20 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1 block while shooting 56% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.  The Celtics need to defend him well as he can get hot and put up points quickly. 

Honorable Mention
Payton Pritchard vs Collin Sexton
Sexton is a key player off the bench for the Bulls as Pritchard is key for the Celtics off the bench.  Sexton is averaging 14.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game while shooting 48.2% from the field and 38.3% from beyond the arc.  He is coming off a game where he finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal while shooting 38.9% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc.  Pritchard struggled in Sunday's game and he rarely struggles 2 games in a row. 

Keys to the Game
Defense -  Defense is always a key to winning.  The Celtics are 10th in the league with a defensive rating of 112.7.  The Bulls are 26th with a defensive rating of 117.4.  The Bulls are 19th with an offensive rating of 113.6 while the Celtics are 2nd with an offensive rating of 120.0.  The Celtics need to get a strong defensive effort from every player on the court and they need to make defense a priority for all 48 minutes with no slacking off.  The Celtics need to guard the 3 point line as the Bulls attempt 40.1 threes per game (7th) and they make 14.7 threes per game (7th). The Celtics also need to defend the Bulls in the paint as they are 5th with 52.6 points in the paint per game. 

Rebound - The Celtics must box out and crash the boards.  They can't score without the ball and it will take extra effort on their part to beat the Bulls on the boards.  The Celtics are averaging 45.4 rebounds per game, which is 8th in the league. The Bulls are averaging 44.9 rebounds per game, which is 11th.  The Celtics have to put out more effort to get to the rebounds before the Bulls and give themselves extra possessions and limit those possessions for the Bulls.

Don't Underestimate - The Bulls have a lot of new faces on their team and  are working on building chemistry with their new players.  They also will likely be missing 5 players and have lost their last 5 games and 8 of their last 10 games.  However, the Celtics can't underestimate them and expect to come into the game and coast to a win.  They need to Play hard and stay focused and not expect to win without putting in the effort. 

Three Point Shooting - The Celtics often shoot 3s at a historic rate but there are times when their shots just aren't falling, like against the Knicks on Sunday.  In that game, the Celtics shot just 7-41 (17%) from beyond the arc.   The Celtics are 2nd in the league,  taking 43.1 threes per game.  The Bulls are  7th, taking 40.1 threes per game.  The Celtics need to focus on taking good shots and they need to move the ball so as to get open shots.  If the 3s aren't falling,  as they weren't on Sunday, they need to get to the basket or take mid-range shots.

X-Factors
Bounce Back at Home - The Celtics are at home and will have the crowd behind them to give them extra motivation.  This is the final game before the All Star break and the Celtics should want to go into the break with a win to bounce back from that terrible game against the Knicks . The Bulls have all the distractions of playing on the road including travel, staying in hotels, playing in front of a hostile crowd and on an unfamiliar court. 

Officiating -  The officiating is always an x-factor.  Sometimes a crew will call the game tight and blow a whistle on every play.  Other times they will let them play and let the game get physical.  Sometimes they will favor one team over the other and other times they will call it even.  Sometimes they are just bad.   The Celtics need to adjust to the way the game is called and not let missed calls or bad calls affect their focus.  If the calls go against them, they just need to play harder to make up for them and not waste time arguing with the officials.