If there was a statement to be made in Thursday night’s game between the Bulls and Celtics, it’s that Boston can’t expect to come in to Chicago and play its C+ game and come away with anything but a double-digit loss. The Bulls defense can make anyone look bad, but the Celtics didn’t help the cause by missing layups and failing to do anything in transition. Defensively, they were a step slow in closing out on shooters and allowed the Bulls hit over 40 percent from 3-point range, in a 97-81 loss.

And in the much-anticipated point guard battle between Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo, Rose won by an early TKO. He then poured it on, going for 30 points and 8 assists to Rondo’s 7 and 6.

While still technically alive, the race for homecourt is over … and in reality it has been ever since the Celtics dropped winnable games at home against the Grizzlies and Bobcats two weeks ago. They are now tied with the Heat for second place with Sunday’s showdown looming in Miami.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Derrick Rose happened: The likely MVP put on a clinic in the first, scoring from impossible angles and running past the Celtics defense in transition. When he wasn’t scoring, Rose was breaking down the Celtics defense and allowing lanes for offensive rebounds. He completely outplayed Rondo in the first half, outscoring him 16-0.

Offensive execution: Where was it? The Bulls are the best defensive team in the league, but the Celtics played right into their hands by turning down decent looks and having to force contested jump shots late in the shot clock. Outside of a brief stretch in the third quarter, there were also no fast break points to be had.

Pick a player: Ray Allen couldn’t get on track. Paul Pierce forced the issue and had several bad turnovers. Kevin Garnett had an off-night shooting. Glen Davis was 1-for-8. Rondo missed layups, among other problems. There was no one among the Celtics main players who had anything close to a good night.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The second unit had its moments: Doc Rivers finally has the right personnel in place to have a functioning second unit and while he’s still toying with the right combinations, the offensive punch provided by Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic off the bench is a welcome sight. The Celtics posted up Green on several occasions with generally positive results and that helped erase an eight-point lead in the first half. Unfortunately for the Celtics, they couldn’t duplicate that performance in the second half.

Free throw shooting: It’s the simplest thing in the world, but the Celtics were able to stay in the game by going a perfect 10-for-10 in the first half at the line, while also getting Luol Deng in foul trouble. That was about all they had going for them offensively.