On 27 December 2016, the Celtics and Bulls entertained us with the first game of the evening following Christmas Day.  It was great having the players, their family members, and our "fan-mily" back in the gym.  We were surprised to see Sterling Hicks rejoin his teammates after missing fourteen games, but his impact was definitely on display when he scored 30 points beyond the arc and produced eight (8) assists to lead the Celtics to victory.

With both teams having fourteen or fifteen games behind them, it is time for players to show their commitment and start bringing everything together for the playoffs.  Failure to do so, can have a very negative impact on the team and opportunity to perform at the highest level possible.  The Celtics outscored the Bulls 38 - 22 in the first half.  The Celtics made nine (9) three-point shots, five (5) field goals, and one free throw shot as they separated themselves from the Bulls.  Sterling Hicks (#32) led the Celtics with five of those three-point shots and one two-point field goal.  The Bulls fought hard to keep the game close with 27 rebounds and nine (9) points from Bernard Jones (#11).  Quantez Franklin (#7) assisted Jones with seven points that included one three-point shot.  The Bulls captured twice the number of rebounds than the Celtics, but they were not able to turn those rebounds into points.

The second half got better for both teams, but it was not to the Bulls' advantage for the Celtics to improve their performance following the first half.  Though the bulls improved their scoring from 22 to 34, they watched the hole get deeper as the Celtics outscored them 55 - 34 second half points.  Jerel Jackson (#24) and Sterling Hicks put on a 3-point extravaganza by combining for 13 shots beyond the 3-point arc.  Jackson scored on eight (8) of the 13 three-point shots.  Desi Johnson (#10) got hot, for the Bulls, and scored 11 second half points.  Again, the Bulls outrebounded the Celtics 17 to 13 - with failed scoring to keep the game close.  The Bulls failed to keep the Celtics from scoring 72 points from 3-point range, alone.  The Celtics never looked back and defeated the Bulls 93 - 56.

The scorers for the Bulls were:  (#10) Desi Johnson with 11 points, 5 responds, and 6 assists; (#33) Ian Trowers with 8 points, 21 rebounds and 3 assists; (#34) Leo Preyer with 11 points and 6 rebounds; (#11) Bernard Jones with 14 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists; and (#7) Quantez Franklin with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 1 assist.

The scorers for the Celtics were:  (#24) Jerel Jackson with 30 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal; (#2) Steve Woodson with 6 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 assist; (#1) Al Wilson with 7 points, 4 assists and 3 steals; (#8) Jerald Mahone with 5 points and 2 rebounds; (#32) Sterling Hicks with 32 points, 1 rebound and 8 assists; and (#20) James Daniels with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.