McGraw: Brooks can't bail out Bulls

The Bulls-Celtics game on Saturday at the United Center had blast from the past written all over it.

Derrick Rose was sidelined by an injury and a backup point guard went crazy in the fourth quarter, nearly erasing a 19-point deficit.

But the Bulls were missing a couple of recent trademarks. They let Boston shoot 52 percent from the field and were outrebounded for the sixth straight game, a first under coach Tom Thibodeau.

Aaron Brooks made things exciting by scoring 19 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls couldn't overcome a sluggish start and lost 106-101.

"We're perfectionists ourselves. We don't like to just sit back and sugarcoat anything," Taj Gibson said. "One thing about it, we're a feisty team that likes to overcome a lot of adversity. So we're just going to learn from it, watch some film and just get better."

The Bulls (5-2) were playing their fourth game in five nights, so there was a reason for the slow start. And their defense figures to get better with time. The Bulls had a tough time dealing with Boston coach Brad Stevens' system of spreading the floor and delivering an endless string of pick-and-rolls.

But rebounding? With Gibson, Joakim Noah and Pau Gasol, that should be the least of their worries. Through seven games, though, they are minus-37 in offensive rebounds.

"We're going to have to do something to change it," Thibodeau said. "It's happening game after game. In order to do something special, you have to be a great rebounding team. That's something we have to correct."

Maybe it's worth pointing out that Miami won two championships despite being one of the league's worst rebounding teams. But the Bulls didn't have Rose again Saturday because of his two sprained ankles, let alone LeBron James.

"The bright spot is, it's not June or May or April right now," Gibson said. "Now is just the start of it. We have a lot of time to correct it."

One more defensive rebound and the Bulls would have had a chance to tie this one late. Brooks finished a run of 10 straight points with a driving bank to bring the Bulls within 100-98 with 37.7 seconds left. They trailed by 17 with 6:20 remaining.

The Bulls struggled with the Celtics' screen and rolls all night, though, and the next possession was no exception. Evan Turner drove into the lane by himself, Gasol came over to help force a missed lay in, but that left no one to box out Kelly Olynyk, who grabbed the offensive rebound.

Turner knocked down 2 free throws a few seconds later and Boston's lead was 102-98 with 17.7 seconds remaining. Jimmy Butler's jumper rimmed out on the next possession and the game was over.

Brooks was sensational in the fourth quarter, delivering a scoring spree that would make Nate Robinson envious. Brooks hit 7 of 11 shots in the fourth quarter, including 3 from 3-point range.

"Coach called plays and some shots were falling," Brooks said. "I didn't really look at it as taking over. Just doing what the defense was giving me, being aggressive."

Gasol had 19 points and 9 rebounds for the Bulls, while Butler scored 16. Boston (3-3) put seven players in double figures, led by Turner with 19 and Olynyk with 18.

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