The Boston Celtics (30-24, 11-15 away) surprisingly jumped out to a 49-38 halftime lead but the Bulls (43-13, 22-6 home) eventually wore them down and won 93-86 at the United Center this evening.
With the victory, Chicago clinched the season series (3-1) as well.
Similar to last night's loss to the Spurs, the Celts played terrible but also pretty good for alternating periods of time. Unfortunately the final result was the same as they dropped back-to-back games against the Western Conference's second-best team and the Eastern Conference's best team respectively.
Luol Deng is a nightmare to guard for anybody and he proved it with a game-high 26 points, six rebounds and four steals. Joakim Noah had 17 points, nine rebounds and three blocks while Carlos Boozer had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Starting for Rose, C.J. Watson notched 15 points and eight assists.
Paul Pierce led the Green and White with 22 points and eight rebounds. Kevin Garnett had 12 points and 14 rebounds. Both guys had decent numbers but they combined to shoot 13 of 37 from the floor, proof that they experienced tired legs. Not making an excuse, just stating a fact. Rajon Rondo had 10 points and 12 assists and Avery Bradley put up nine points as he was reinserted into the starting lineup. Ray Allen (14 points) played much better tonight than against San Antonio as he came off the bench but still played big minutes.
No shock that a Tom Thibodeau coached team won all the hustle plays. Chicago hit seven more free throws (22-15), grabbed eight more rebounds (44-36 including 14-7 offensive) and blocked six more shots (8-2).
Ever since they met in the playoffs three years ago (where does the time go?), the Bulls have always been an awful matchup for the Celtics and it's only gotten worse as Rose has developed along with his supporting cast and their role players. That's why it's so important that Boston stays in the No. 3-6 spot in the East, so they don't have to face Chicago or Miami in the first round.
Boston flies to Indiana for a meeting with the Pacers on Saturday night. Boston is 1-2 against Indiana this season, although they won the last one (94-87 on January 24 at the Garden). The Pacers are still holding strong to the third seed in the Eastern Conference.
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