The Boston Celtics hold off a late Chicago Bulls rally in the 4th quarter for a 101 to 95 victory in the United Center. The defensive minded Bulls could not get a stop, giving Celtics 58 points in the first half (33 in the 1st quarter) and never found a way to overcome the lead they gave up.
Chicago have not allowed a 100 points to their opponent since April 8th, 2012 and the Celtics snapped the 15 game streak with a rare offensive display. Boston never shot lower than 50 percent from the field in this game, and was even at 60+ in the first half. Rajon Rondo led the charge with a near triple-double, 20 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds and 5 steals.
Luol Deng had 26 points and 11 rebounds. Joakim Noah chipped in 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls. Carlos Boozer was aggressive early, scoring 10 points in the first quarter and as usual he only got another 5 to finish the game. It is frustrating and infuriating to see a 266 pound man spinning away from his defender for a fade away jumper instead of taking it to the basket. Just the pure thought of him settling for jump shots make me want to hang myself.
Chicago still managed to keep this game in reach in the 4th quarter, where the Bulls started to making shots and went on a 10-0 run to crawl within 3 points. They somewhat captured on Boston's foul trouble and used the bonus to to get as close as two points. Which was the closest they would eventually get, as they failed to hit the free throws as the most critical moment.
Offensive End:
The problem with Chicago is that they rely on good execution to score. This is the exact reason why they miss Derrick Rose. The Bulls have a lot of trouble getting into sets quick, and they don't have the offensive power to create shots.
The Celtics are, as you would have guessed Rondo controlled. He takes his time to analyze the floor to get his teammate good looks at the basket. His dribble penetration is key component to his team's success. Having bigs that can space the floor with their mid range shooting is a blessing, it allows him to basically do what ever he wants inside.
Boston bench outscored the Bulls 26 to 18. Leandro Barbosa changes the Celtic offense, he is not a pass first guy, he looks for his own first and pass second.
Defensive End:
They are very similar in the defense they play, and you can credit Tom Thibodeau for that. He was once an assistant coach for Doc Rivers and he helped create that 2008 NBA Championship defense. Both teams trap the player coming off the screen hard, trying to force them to make a bad pass for a turnover. (Celtics had only 8 turnovers to Bull's 13)
The difference tonight was that, the Celtics passed out of the trap early, and they knocked down their shots, something the Bulls didn't do. Also the Bulls fall for every single pump fake, what is up with that?
Rookie Watch:
Marcus Teague was lacking confidence early, once he came out in the 4th quarter, he started to get comfortable, maybe a little too comfortable. He took a few ill advised shots late, but he did get himself to the free throw line to cut down the lead.
Jared Sullinger didn't do anything that stood out. He is not a bad defender, and the only points he got in this game was a shot clock beating three pointer.
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