* The Bulls have taken two of the three games in this series so far in 2012-13. In the last meeting on January 18, Marco Belinelli hit a fadeaway jumper with :03 remaining in overtime to give the Bulls a 100-99 victory.

* The Bulls have allowed 100 or more points in three of their last four games. They gave up 100+ points in just 10 of their first 47 games.

* Boston’s 94-91 defeat at the hands of the Charlotte Bobcats on Monday was its first since Rajon Rondo went down with a potentially season-ending knee injury on January 25 (7-1). However, the Celtics still have an active six-game home win streak.

* Kirk Hinrich (elbow) will miss his seventh straight game. The Bulls are 2-4 in the previous six games without him (they are 4-7 overall when he hasn’t played this season). Nate Robinson has replaced Hinrich in the starting lineup, averaging 17.2 points and 8.3 assists with a 5:1 A/TO ratio in these six contests.

* Although Luol Deng has had a double-double in four of his eight games since returning to action on January 28, he is struggling with his shot, making just 35.0 (43/123) percent of his field-goal attempts since that date.

* Paul Pierce has had nine straight games with at least 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. That is the longest active streak in the NBA.