Celtics return home and coast past shorthanded Bulls

After stumbling to a 1-4 record on the longest trip of the season, the Celtics put all five starters in double figures in a 111-82 victory over the Bulls Wednesday night.

BOSTON – The NBA schedule maker provided the Celtics with a much needed break on their return home from a brutal road trip.

Waiting for the Celtics at the TD Garden after they stumbled through a 1-4 western swing were the sub-.500 Chicago Bulls, who were minus three of their top players.

That was the perfect antidote for a highly touted team that has been searching for answers in the early part of the season and looked lost at times on a nine-day trip that ended Sunday night.

And after struggling through the first quarter against the shorthanded Bulls, the Celtics finally did what they were supposed to do and coasted to a 111-82 victory at the TD Garden on Wednesday night.

They led by as many as 33 points, taking control with a 32-11 spree in the second quarter, and for one night any way, the Celtics showed glimpses of being the team they were hyped to be in the preseason during their easiest win of the young season.

Now comes a much truer test with the Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors (12-3) coming to the Garden on Friday night for a nationally televised matchup.

“We’ll take it,’’ said Jaylen Brown of the win over the Bulls, who were without Kris Dunn, Bobby Portis and Lauri Markkanen. “We’ve got a big week coming up with back-to-back games against two teams (the Raptors and the Utah Jazz on Saturday) we lost to previously.’’

The first game back from a trip to the other side of the country is always a danger time for teams who are trying to shake off the cobwebs.

That might have been the case for the Celtics in the first quarter when they trailed by as many as eight, but they dominated in the second quarter to take a 51-35 lead and there was never a challenge after that.

All five starters – Brown (18), Kyrie Irving (17), Jayson Tatum (14), Gordon Hayward (11) and Al Horford (10) were in double figures. The starters combined for 70 points and shot 50 percent on 3-pointers. The ball was moving better than it was on the trip and the 3-point shooting was more effective (15 for 34).

Even without Marcus Morris (illness), the Celtics had plenty to easily take care of the Bulls to improve to 8-6.

“It felt good,’’ said Irving, who made 6-of-8 shots and had seven assists and six rebounds in 28 minutes. “One of the toughest things in this league to do is come off a road trip, good or bad, and play well in front of your home fans.

“I think for us it was a conscious effort to be more aggressive and play the game as it came, not settling for jump shots or taking the first available shot. I think we got into our offense pretty well and executed. We were prepared. We’ve been prepared other games, but we hadn’t matched that with the attitude to execute at both ends. I think we did a better job of that tonight.’’

It was a good start for the Celtics as they try to straighten themselves out after being inconsistent in the opening few weeks.

“We haven’t been mediocre. We’ve either been bad or good. There’s been no in between,’’ said coach Brad Stevens. “We need to work harder to be the better version of ourselves more.’’

A solid effort against the Raptors would be a sign of progress as the Celtics head towards the one-quarter pole of the season.

"I think that coming into the season, we were all expecting that we would just kind of take over,” said Horford. "I feel like we’ve been humbled a little bit. We’re in a position now where we have an opportunity to start building that, and we have to do it every night. If we’re able to do that, we’ll have a chance to be special.”

The win over the Bulls will either be the first step in the right direction or a case of a sub-.500 shorthanded team being picked on by the Celtics.

They were able to take care of the Bulls in short order and get the starters plenty of rest with back-to-back home games on the weekend.

“It’s a player’s dream to be done with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter,’’ said Irving.