Chicago heads to Boston for conference showdown

Chicago Bulls (5-4, sixth in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (4-3, fifth in the Eastern Conference)

Boston; Friday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Boston faces Chicago in a matchup of Eastern Conference teams.

Boston went 14-10 overall and 33-19 in Eastern Conference action a season ago. The Celtics averaged 105.5 points per game while allowing opponents to score 102.0 last season.

Chicago went 1-4 overall and 29-23 in Eastern Conference action during the 2021-22 season. The Bulls averaged 7.8 steals, 3.2 blocks and 12.6 turnovers per game last season.

The teams play for the second time this season. In the last matchup on Oct. 25 the Bulls won 120-102 led by 25 points from DeMar DeRozan, while Jayson Tatum scored 26 points for the Celtics.

INJURIES: Celtics: Danilo Gallinari: out for season (knee), Robert Williams III: out (knee).

Bulls: Coby White: out (quad), Andre Drummond: out (shoulder), Lonzo Ball: out (knee).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.