Bulls compete early but can't halt Celtics' streak
BOSTON - Larry Hughes drilled a 22-foot jumper to give the visiting Bulls a 1-point lead after they had faced a 12-point deficit against the defending champion Boston Celtics.
If only that happened in the fourth quarter instead of the second Friday night, the Bulls would have made some news. But Hughes' basket gave them a 41-40 edge with 5:35 remaining in the first half.
Still, considering how badly the Bulls have played against the Celtics the past two seasons, if this was college football, the visitors might have called time out at that point and posed for a photo in front of the scoreboard.
The Bulls made their comeback primarily against Boston's reserves. When the starters returned, the Celtics piled up 41 points in the third quarter and coasted to a 126-108 victory. The Celtics won their 17th in a row and improved to 25-2.
"They're the world champions for a reason, and we're trying to find ourselves with a young team," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I like the way our guys competed. The first half, it was a pretty competitive game. In the third quarter, they took control of the game and we didn't have any firepower with all the injuries we had."
The Bulls (12-14) were short-handed on the inside. Tyrus Thomas (concussion) didn't make the trip, while power forward Drew Gooden left with an ankle injury midway through the first quarter and did not return. Gooden went up for a rebound and appeared to land on the foot of Celtics center Kendrick Perkins.
Neither Thomas nor Gooden seems likely to be back on the floor tonight when the Bulls host Utah at the United Center.
Little-used Bulls forward Cedric Simmons played 12 minutes in Boston, and it's conceivable that Michael Ruffin, who has been out with an ankle injury since early in training camp, could see some minutes.
Rookie guard Derrick Rose suffered a right knee contusion late in the first quarter when he bumped into Celtics guard Rajon Rondo. Rose returned to the game but played a relatively low 23 minutes, finishing with 14 points and 5 assists.
Both teams shot better than 50 percent from the field, but the Celtics also scored 30 points off Bulls turnovers and moved the ball masterfully, collecting an impressive 40 assists, an NBA season high.
Many of the Bulls' 21 turnovers were simply careless passes to the wrong-color jersey.
Ray Allen led Boston with 27 points, while Perkins exploded for 25 points, about three times his season average of 8.4.
Luol Deng scored 19 points to lead the Bulls, while Andres Nocioni added 16. Thabo Sefolosha (8 points) provided some solid minutes after playing sparingly for the past three weeks. Veteran guard Lindsey Hunter (8 points) saw action for the first time since Dec. 2.
"Inside, we just could not handle them, and that was kind of the difference," Del Negro said. "They picked us apart upfront. We shot the ball well and we kept hustling. Our guys have been very resilient all season."
The Bulls trailed 57-55 at halftime, then allowed Boston to score the first 9 points of the third quarter.
With Olympic sprinter Usain Bolt watching from the audience, the Bulls fought back within 66-61 before the Celtics tacked on a 14-4 run to essentially put the game away.