Last evening, 5 May 2016, the Bulls and Celtics reported to North Highland Assembly of God's Church Gymnasium for another challenge.  The Celtics are coming off of a loss to the Hawks and were seeking redemption.  The Bulls was coming off of a win against the Heat on 2 May 2016.  The Bulls and Celtics had something to prove to themselves.  I love the atmosphere these two teams bring to the gym.  They are true competitors filled with talent.  I find it difficult to understand why the Bulls seem to underachieve their potential when playing against the top rated teams like the Celtics and 76ers.  These are the two teams they must defeat to consider themselves on the road to a championship.  All teams must travel through the Celtics and 76ers.  They are the two dominant champions in the history of the NOSBL.  I know it feels good defeating other teams and you should, but if you are pursuing the national title - you must emulate something from the Celtics and 76ers.

       Last evening's game was exciting - yet perplexing.  I keep looking for the Bulls to do what I know they are capable of doing, but they surprise me with their lack of a game plan against their opponents.  There is more to winning than attempting to obtain the leading score.  The other part has to do with knowing how to maintain a lead and knowing who to matchup against.  They allowed the Celtics, Tim Sanks (#23), to score 34 points to lead his team to victory.

     The first half was was everything we (the fans) expected.  The Bulls' James Daniels (#23) scored 19 first half points and Philip Whittington (#3) added 16 points as the team reached 45 points to end the first half.  The Celtics were scoring from all angles with Tim Sanks leading the way with 10 points and Ralph Mathews (#30) scoring 9 points (all from 3-point range).  The Celtics led the first 51 - 45.  The Bulls committed six team fouls and the Celtics committed seven.

     The second half was a shocker because the Bulls returned to the floor unable to do anything right.  They were unable to defend or score as the Celtics turned up the heat and went on a 20 - 0 run to open the second half.  All five Celtics scored from every angle on the floor.  I recently stated, in a commentary, that the Celtics is a very strategic team.  They specialize in targeting their opponents' threat(s).  The went after Daniels and Whittington and kept them under 6 points for the second half.  Jimmy "Champion" Foster (#45) and Deon Pearman (#0) tried to fill the scoring gap, but it did not works as they combined for 19 second half points.  The Bulls committed eight team fouls and the Celtics committed five team fouls.  The Celtics outscored the Bulls 48 - 35 to end the second half and defeated the Bulls 99 - 80. 

     The scorers for the Celtics were:  #23 Tim Sanks with 34 points, #30 Ralph Mathews with 16 points, #24 Jerel Jackson with 15, #2 Steve Woodson with 12, #22 Johnny Vasquez with 12, and #15 Christopher None with 10 points.

     The scorers for the Bulls were:  #23 James Daniels with 23 points, #3 Philip Whittington with 21, #45 Jimmy Foster with 11, #0 Deon Pearman with 10, #22 James Dix with 7, #33 Ian Trowers with 4, #5 LevAndrew Hawthorne with 2, and #28 B. Adams with 2 points.