The Chicago Bulls already have racked up their share of demoralizing losses during a 5-9 start to the season. But Sunday’s 143-107 blowout at the hands of the Houston Rockets reached another level of dysfunction.

The entire fourth quarter at the United Center functioned as garbage time after the Bulls trailed 108-78 through three quarters. Fred VanVleet scored 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting, but the Rockets didn’t need singular heroics to manhandle the Bulls defense. Seven Rockets scored in double digits.

Meanwhile, Zach LaVine was the only Bulls starter who could muster double-digit scoring on an ice-cold night behind the 3-point arc. Without long-range shooting bailing them out, the haplessness of the Bulls defense was on full display in their second-straight game ceding 140 or more points.

“We’ve got to take a stand,” Coby White said after the loss. “Giving up 140-plus in back-to-back games is unacceptable. It’s embarrassing. It’s a disservice to the organization, a disservice to the fan base.”

The Bulls are now 1-5 at home. Here are five takeaways from the latest loss.

1. Two more dismal 40-point quarters.

The Bulls have allowed their opponent to score 135 or more points in four games this season — nearly 30% of their games. Opponents’ scoring typically has ballooned in a single quarter, but on Sunday it was two quarters.

The Rockets ripped off 41 points in the second quarter and another 40 points in the third. They did it in the second without getting hot from deep, going only 3-for-7 from 3-point range. Instead they dominated the Bulls by hammering their way to the rim, where they scored nine of their 16 baskets in the quarter.

Coach Billy Donovan criticized the Bulls defense for not meeting the Rockets with physical aggression at any point on the court, allowing themselves to be knocked off balance and out of the way.

“As much the ball was coming downhill, we didn’t have one guy try to take a charge,” Donovan said. “Someone’s got to put their body in the way. They just kind of came right through us. We’re going to have to make a stance.”

The Bulls allowed the Cleveland Cavaliers to score a franchise-record 49 points in the first quarter Friday.2. The poor shooting night exposed weaknesses in the offense.

LaVine was the only Bull to score in double digits outside of garbage time, finishing with 15 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Talen Horton-Tucker scored 12 points, nine coming in the fourth quarter once the game was firmly out of hand.

The dearth of scoring stemmed from a complete collapse behind the 3-point arc, where the Bulls finished 14-for-56 in their worst shooting performance of the season.

The Bulls have mostly buoyed their offense this season with high-energy ball rotation and 3-point shooting, but that formula didn’t work against the Rockets. Patrick Williams went 1-for-7 from deep, Josh Giddey went 1-for-6 and Ayo Dosunmu went 1-for-5.

Meanwhile, the Bulls couldn’t compensate inside the arc, where they often have struggled to create separation. The Rockets racked up 80 points in the paint to the Bulls’ 40. And as the poor shooting persisted, it began to seep into players’ confidence on the other end, where the defense visibly lagged.

“We’re all human, so obviously missing shots kind of affects you during the game,” White said. “I’ve had moments where I’ve let missing shots affect me and my energy during the game. It’s just something that we’ve all got to continue to work through and maneuver through.”

3. Patrick Williams’ double-digit scoring streak ended.

The last six games were promising for Williams, but contesting a high level of physicality at the rim is one of the weak spots in the forward’s offensive game. That was clear throughout Sunday’s loss.

Williams scored only seven points after missing his first six shots and began to visibly hesitate as he loaded up behind the arc. He finished 2-for-9 from the field and made only one 3-pointer.

4. Billy Donovan shortened Josh Giddey’s rotations.

After effectively being benched in a brutal defensive outing against the Cavaliers, Giddey played in shorter rotations Sunday. He played only six minutes of the second quarter as the defense imploded, then was pulled off the court two minutes into the third quarter.

Donovan said that was partially due to a planned rotation based on consulting with the Bulls medical team. Sunday’s game was the first of five in a seven-day stretch.

But Donovan also noted that Giddey still is failing to give the Bulls the defensive energy necessary to compete. He finished with nine points on 3-for-10 shooting in only 21 minutes.

5. Matas Buzelis struggled during a longer fourth-quarter rotation.

The blowout loss allowed the rookie to play the entire fourth quarter — which should have been the silver lining of an otherwise mind-numbing night.

But after a strong game Saturday night in the Windy City Bulls’ G League home opener — 24 points and 10 rebounds — Buzelis struggled Sunday, even in garbage time. The Rockets’ physicality kept him off balance when he attempted to finish at the rim.

Buzelis finished with eight points on 2-for-6 shooting, making both of his shots from 3-point range.