The Chicago Bulls returned to action after the All-Star break on Thursday night at home against the Boston Celtics. The Bulls held their own in the first half against the top seed in the East, but things got away from them in the third quarter. Chicago led by three at halftime, but they ended up losing the game 129-112.

There is a reason that the Celtics are in first place and the East and have far away the best record in the conference. The team is loaded with talent, and they are extremely hard to defend. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan broke down what made the matchup so difficult after the game.

“They're a team that on contested shots probably shoots well above the league average,” Billy Donovan said of the Celtics. “Where I think you get into trouble with them is when you start trying to spread out your defense and all of a sudden you're all the way out, but you have to provide some rim protection because they get to the free throw line quite a bit. You've got to defend them without fouling. A lot of times they are posting up and they're playing near the basket so when you do trap they kick it back out and then you have to close out to those guys. …They're unique because they're just rising up and shooting them (three pointers). They just rise up and shoot. It's a credit to their individual talent and the space that they have. We don't have a lot of guys that are going to come down and just dribble dribble dribble step back three, we don't. That's not who we are.”

Chicago fell to 26-30 on the season after the loss. They are trying to make a push for the playoffs, and right now, the Bulls are in position to make the play-in tournament.

Next up for the Bulls is the New Orleans Pelicans on the road on Sunday.