BOSTON – Two players, two different teams, two experiences, and the same tale to tell.

One that didn’t have a happy ending or reflect well on the Bulls franchise.

Before the 124-105 beatdown by the Celtics on Wednesday, it was reunion time at the TD Garden. Anfernee Simons was returning to Boston since his trade to the Bulls and Nikola Vucevic was facing the team he played with for five-plus years before putting on Celtic green in that same deal.

Whether it was on purpose or more likely accidental, both players articulately laid out the stark differences between the two organizations.

“Just the opportunity to go out there and contribute to winning, and I’ve said before a historic franchise,” Simons said, when asked what he took away most from his time with the Celtics. “They have a lot of aspirations to win a championship, and you see that each and every day by the habits, by the way they speak to each other, it’s a one-common goal. So I learned a lot just being around and being able to experience that on the court, which I’m very grateful for.”

Hours later Vucevic was told of Simons’ comments and asked if he felt a difference between being a Bull and a Celtic, even as fresh as it was. He agreed with Simons’ take.

“Obviously because of the history and they’ve won recently,” Vucevic said of the single-mindedness of chasing a title. “They have players that have been a part of it. But I think also because of how well they’ve been playing lately. They really feel like they have another chance at it. So you can really feel it. It just comes with the culture of having done it so much and having done it recently, having the players, coaching staff and the front office, everything. They’re really focused on winning now and going deep in the postseason, and you can really tell.

“Just the situation they’re in, it was different in Chicago because they were a younger team, trying to figure out the next move and the pieces, things like that. Here, you definitely feel that. It’s a good opportunity for me and I hope I can make the best out of it, help this team achieve its goals.”

Vucevic continued taking steps in that direction

Playing in his third game since the Bulls traded him, Vucevic reminded his former team why he was a walking double-double, scoring 19 points, grabbing 11 boards, handing out three assists and blocking two shots, all while finishing a plus-26 in the plus/minus category.

Meanwhile, Simons watched the Bulls (24-31) drop a fourth consecutive game since the trade deadline – sixth overall straight loss – as he scored seven against the Celtics, watching them still sit in the No. 2 seed of the Eastern Conference.

Talk about the penthouse to the outhouse.

And for Bulls coach Billy Donovan his mission statement remains the same: Try and get this ship pointed in the right direction as quickly as possible.

“On the defensive side we have got to get way more physical,” Donovan reiterated after the latest loss. “That’s first and foremost, even before the coverages and things like that. We’re getting hit on screens and held up, so way more physical. So I think it starts there first.

“The other thing too is we’ve got to be able to sit down and guard one-on-one a little bit. I thought there were drives that went right through us, knocked us out of the way and took layups. I think you’ve got to be way more physical. Whatever the schemes are, if you don’t (play physical) it’s going to be really hard.”