The Celtics got into a shoot-out with the Chicago Bulls on Friday night. The problem is, this Celtics team isn’t going to win many shoot-outs with playoff-bound teams. The Bulls shot an absurd 66% in the second half and went 13-25 on triples on the night to turn what was a 58-55 Celtics lead at halftime into a comfortable 119-103 victory for Chicago.
The Celts used a balanced attack while holding a narrow lead for a majority of the first half. The Bulls refused to challenge Brandon Bass mid-range jump-shots and both Kelly Olynyk and Phil Pressey shot well off of the bench. If it weren’t for the quick hands of Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose forcing turnovers and easy Chicago buckets, the Celtics could have opened up a larger lead.
The Bulls then applied every video game cheat code on offense and caught absolute fire in the second half. Give the Celtics credit, after an 11-1 run midway through the third quarter gave the Bulls a 79-72 lead, the Cs closed to within two, 88-86, to start the fourth quarter.
Derrick Rose then took over the fourth quarter. DRose had a number of tough drives to the basket throughout the game, circa 2010, but it was his outside shooting that broke the game open. Rose had three of the Bulls’ seven three-pointers in the final frame and the Celts, who had kept pace through three quarters, went cold from the field.
The Green:
The Celtics’ bench: The Cs received 51 points from the reserves tonight. Kelly looked far more aggressive on the offensive end tonight than he has in some time. He had a strong take to the rim in the third quarter starting at the top of the key and also scrapped with Pau Gasol and Taj Gibson (Joakim Noah was out of this one), pulling down four offensive rebounds. Bass finished 7-11 from the field and 16 points.
Team passing: The Celtics finished with 29 assists on 42 made baskets. Evan Turner had 8 of those helpers and Marcus Smart had 5.
The Gross:
Team Defense: A Bulls team that has looked offensively challenged as of late exploded against the Celtics’ defense tonight. The Cs were especially shoddy defending the three point line. The Bulls were 7-9 from downtown in the second half.
Avery Bradley had a quiet night: finishing 3-7 with three turnovers.
The Greenlights:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuS0VpybuvA
The Grid:
The Celtics out-rebounded the Bulls 45-36 after getting outworked by a wide margin against Chicago two weeks ago (Joakim Noah makes a difference)
The Bulls had 12 steals. Jimmy Butler had a game-high six of them.
Just 28 combined free throws in this game. The Bulls were 10-12 from the line and the Celtics were 14-16.
The Bulls win the season series 3-1.
The Celtics now head west for a week and a half, six game road trip. They’ll start in Los Angeles against the Clippers on Monday afternoon.
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