For the second time in the last 3 games, the Bulls jumped out to a big early lead, and then held off a furious rally by their opponent to win. After blowing a 24 point lead to the Timberwolves on Tuesday, they nearly blew a 21 point lead to the Celtics Friday.
After missing a game with a sprained toe, Derrick Rose returned Friday and started off the game with a nice drive and scoop layup. It looked like he wasn’t bothered at all by the injury. From there, the Bulls dominated the Celtics for the rest of the first half, embarrassing them on their home court and drawing boos from the fans directed towards their own team. A 26-13 first quarter score turned into a 52-33 halftime score as the Celtics couldn’t score or rebound, and were completely out-hustled on both ends of the court. In the first half alone, the Bulls out-shot the Celtics 54% to 33%, and out-rebounded them 31-15.
Midway through the 3rd quarter, the Bulls shared their biggest lead at 61-41 before Boston finally woke up. The Celtics ended the quarter on an 18-6 run to cut the lead to 67-59. Derrick Rose’s shot was starting to look flat, raising concerns about how much his injury was affecting him. The Celtics, on the other hand, were starting to look like the team fans are hoping they’ll be. Their run continued into the 4th quarter, where they scored the first 7 points to cut the lead to just one point, 67-66.
But the Celtics would never lead in this game. Derrick Rose woke back up and did what he does best, taking over the game in the 4th quarter. The Celtics kept it close for the rest of the game, but the Bulls pulled away and won by nine.
Rose ended with 25 points on 9-21 shooting (he was able to salvage his shooting percentage somewhat in the 4th quarter) and 7 assists. Luol Deng had 21 points and 16 rebounds, beating his previous season high of 15 set in the last game. It was his third straight game with double-digit rebounds. Joakim Noah also had a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Ray Allen led the Celtics in scoring with 16 points, while Rajon Rondo had 14 and 11 assists.
The Celtics have been among the Eastern Conference’s elite teams in the last few seasons since acquiring the “Big 3″, but this season has not started off so well. Their roster has a lot of years on it, which will likely come into play this season given the pace. While they’ll still probably make the playoffs, they aren’t looking like a top seed. The Bulls made a statement by going into Boston and taking the victory.