NBA Playoffs: Where punching Brad Miller in the face happens

In the all-important Game 5 last night at the Garden, the Celtics survived 106-104 to take a 3-2 series lead into Game 6 tomorrow night in Chicago.

Paul Pierce did what he do (as the rappers say), scoring 26 points and grabbing seven boards. He scored six huge points down the stretch in the fourth, including the tying bucket with 10 seconds left. He also had the clinching shot with three seconds left in overtime. Rajon Rondo continued his MVP play: 28 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Big Baby added 21 points and six boards.

The most unexpected huge contribution was from Kendrick Perkins who almost had a triple-double: 16 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks. As cliche as it sounds, every point mattered since Ray Allen (10 points) fouled out in the fourth quarter and the C's bench continued to be non-existent.

Ben Gordon led the uber-resilient Bulls with 26 points. Kirk Hinrich scored 19 and John Salmons tossed in 17 points. Derrick Rose had 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists. The pug-ugly Joakim Noah had a double-double: 11 points and 17 rebounds while Tyrus Thomas managed 12 points and eight rebounds.

It looked like Chicago was going to send it to a second overtime when the seas parted on an inbounds play and Brad Miller had a clear path to the basket. Luckily for Boston, Miller is incredibly slow and also Rondo managed to punch the side of his face.

After receiving treatment for a bleeding mouth, a wobbly Miller bricked the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second (although he didn't hit the rim). Game over. A cheap way to win but the Celts will take them any way they come in this intense series.

Boston shot 48.8% to 40.0% for the Bulls. Chicago made 11 more free throws (27-16) and had six more rebounds (50-44). The C's had six more assists (24-18).

This is not fun

This is the roller coaster of life in the NBA playoffs without KG and Leon Powe. The Bulls won 121-118 in double overtime yesterday afternoon at the United Center in Game 4, evening the series at two games apiece.

At various points, this was a game Boston should have lost, then won and finally lost again. Ray Allen (28 points) hit another clutchtastic 3-pointer to tie it late in regulation and send the game to overtime. Up three late in the first overtime, Ben Gordon (22 points, 6 rebounds) broke free and tied it with a three of his own. The C's had a chance to win it when Rajon Rondo (25 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) had a jumper but it predictably missed and the Bulls simply made more shots to outlast Boston in the second OT.

Paul Pierce scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed seven rebounds but he had six turnovers. Kendrick Perkins was effective with 15 points and nine boards but he also committed six turnovers and fouled out in overtime, leaving Boston with few big available big men. Big Baby had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds but he shot 4-of-16 from the floor.

This game was about the Bulls' heart and refusal to lose. They're a young team that makes a lot of mistakes but with Gordon and Derrick Rose (23 points, 11 rebounds, 9 assists, 7 turnovers), they almost always have a chance to win.

John Salmons scored 20 points for Chicago, Tyrus Thomas added 14 points and 10 rebounds while Joakim Noah notched 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Most importantly, Kirk Hinrich came off the bench to score 18 points and Brad Miller tossed in 12 points before fouling out. Boston does not have the depth or options that Chicago possesses.

Game 5 is tomorrow night at the Garden and Game 6 is Thursday back in the land of big shoulders. Any doubts this is going seven?

Derrick Rose's pube moustache will kill us all

When the news came out on Thursday that Kevin Garnett would most likely be out for the playoffs, Celtics fans were understandably bummed. Boston delivered a title last season so we can't feel shortchanged but going into the postseason at less than full strength (in this case, much less) isn't any fun.

Still, who could have imagined the Chicago Bulls would come into the Garden yesterday for game one and beat the C's, 105-103 in overtime?

I think most assumed the Celts would get by the Bulls and possibly the Magic before ultimately falling to the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals, a noble feat. This was only one game but yikes. We could bow out in one round as the baby Bulls bear a striking resemblance to the Atlanta Hawks of last spring's playoffs (the one that pushed the Celtics to seven games).

Rookie point guard Derrick Rose was the story of the game as the 20-year old dropped a career-high 36 points, 11 assists and four rebounds before fouling out late in OT. Take nothing away from the kid (who has serious game) but as my friend said last night, it was a layup line for him virtually all day.

Garnett's defensive presence and energy were sorely missed as Boston struggled to find itself. Rajon Rondo (29 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists) did everything he could and Paul Pierce added 23 points and seven rebounds. Scoring wasn't the problem for most of the C's as Glen Davis tossed in 18 points and Kendrick Perkins notched 14 points and eight rebounds. The most troubling thing for Boston besides the lack of D was the disappearance of the artist formerly known as Ray Allen.

After being non-existent in the first two rounds last spring, Allen found his stroke vs. the Pistons and Lakers, en route to the title. He had a better regular season this year so his struggles last year seemed to be a distant memory. Not yesterday. Allen was 1-of-12 from the floor and he finished with four points.

Even though they were outplayed most of the game, Boston had a chance to win at the end of regulation; Pierce tied it with a free throw but missed the second that would have put them up by one. Later, Allen got the last shot in OT that would have tied it. A good look no doubt, but did anyone in the building (other than Doc and maybe Ray) think Allen's jumper was going in? Didn't think so.

Ben Gordon looked like a younger, more potent Ray Allen as he hit some big shots, on his way to 20 points. Tyrus Thomas, who suddenly has a decent jumper, added 16 points, six rebounds and three blocks while clown-prince Joakim Noah had a double-double (11 points, 17 rebounds) and three blocks. Finally, John Salmons scored 12 points.

Both teams scored 28 points in the first quarter and Chicago outscored Boston 25-16 in the second quarter. A good sign for Boston is that they erased the deficit almost immediately in the third (28-18). The Bulls had a slight advantage in the fourth (26-25) and OT (8-6).

Did I mention Chicago earned this W? Look at the numbers: Chicago shot 42.7% to Boston's 39.4%. The Bulls grabbed eight more boards (53-45) and handed out four more assists (20-16).

Tomorrow night is basically a must-win for the C's. Chicago has already taken away the home-court advantage so needless to say, they can't go to the Chi down 0-2.

Forget the Pistons

Boston went to Chicago last night and came home with a 106-92 win over the Bulls. The Celtics (59-15) reduced their magic number to three (I was a little ahead of myself the other day) while the Pistons sat Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Rasheed Wallace last night vs. the Timberwolves, virtually waving the white flag that they've given up hope on getting the top seed in the East.

Boston on the other hand seems happy to keep playing everybody, although once they lock up the top spot, they'll no doubt be sitting KG, Ray Allen, Pierce, Rondo and Perkins more than usual.

A very dissapointing season is almost over for Chicago (29-45) who came into the season expecting to make some noise in the Eastern Conference. They fired head coach Scott Skiles on Christmas no less but nothing has really changed. This group has no chemistry and it should probably be blown up since it doesn't look like they'll go anywhere with the same cast next year.

The C's swept the season series from the Bulls, 4-0. Ray Allen led Boston with 22 points and six assists. Kevin Garnett posted 20 points, seven rebounds and four blocks while Paul Pierce scored 17. Rajon Rondo had nine points, 10 assists, five rebounds but an unsightly seven turnovers. Kendrick Perkins had nine rebounds and James Posey had 11 points and seven boards.

Tyrus Thomas led the Bulls with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds while Andres Nocioni had 19 points and Luol Deng added 10.

Boston led 22-17 and 50-43 at the half. Chicago barely took the third quarter, 30-29 but the Celtics put it away with a 27-19 fourth.

For the game, Boston shot 49.3% to Chicago's 41.7%. The Celts made six more threes (14-8) and had 12 more rebounds (45-33).

It's a quick turnaround as they flew home last night and meet the Pacers tonight at the Garden. Indiana is still mathematically alive for the No. 8 spot but more than likely, the Hawks will face the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.