Derrick Rose was virtually unstoppable in Game 1

It wasn't quite Michael Jordan going for 63 against the Celtics' Big Three.

But the Bulls' best player since Jordan sure brought back memories Saturday afternoon in Boston.

Derrick Rose was virtually unstoppable in Game 1 as he went off for 36 points with 11 assists and single-handedly got the Bulls to overtime, where they defeated Boston, 105-103.

Jordan was only 23 when he exploded in an April 1986 playoff game at Boston Garden, making the hallowed parquet floor his own personal playground in the Bulls' double-OT loss to the Celtics.

Rose may not have offered quite the same preview of what's to come as Jordan did that day, but a 20-year-old rookie in his first postseason contest, Rose served notice to an entire league that he intends to be an all-world playoff performer in the years ahead.

"He was terrific, but his 11 assists were more impressive to me,'' said Bulls head coach Vinny Del Negro, at the postgame news conference. "He had a nice demeanor running the team and getting guys involved.''

As was the case with Jordan in the early days, Rose at times looked very much alone Saturday, but at the same time the Celtics were also missing the biggest of their current Big Three, Kevin Garnett, and the Other Two hardly looked the same without him.

"Kevin is gone and he ain't coming back,'' said Boston coach Doc Rivers. "This is about the guys in the uniform and we didn't get it done.''

The Bulls took full advantage of Garnett's absence, constantly going to the hoop, and grabbing rebounds galore.

Without Garnett down low, Rose went to the rim time after time, and even Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas looked fearless, alert and serviceable, with Noah grabbing 17 rebounds, and Thomas scoring 16 points, including 3 crucial buckets in overtime.

The timing was perfect for Thomas, who a week ago revealed his playoff forecast.

"I think we're the most dangerous team that's going to be in the postseason in the Eastern Conference,'' Thomas said. "We're the underdog, but I think we're going to shock a lot of people.''

The city of Boston was in shock Saturday afternoon as the Bulls showed no awe and little respect for the world champion Celtics in taking Game 1.

The combination of no Garnett and too much Rose made for a miserable day for the Celtics, who are down but certainly not out after one game.

Still, they looked old, slow and less than motivated, coming off a title season and missing their best player.

"We know we'll have to play better,'' Del Negro said. "We'll have to raise our level on Monday. This was just the first game of a long series.''

Boston will make adjustments in Game 2, try to keep the Bulls from running quite as much, and hope to make Rose work harder on the defensive end.

They finally figured that part out late in Saturday's game, and Rose fouled out with 10 seconds left in overtime.

Fortunately for the Bulls, there wasn't much time left and the Celtics failed to tie the game, or the Bulls would have been in trouble in a second overtime without their star player.

"We let a young team get very comfortable on our home court in the first half,'' Rivers said. "We let them off the hook and now we have to deal with that.''

Worse for Boston, they'll have to deal with Rose, and a Rose by any other name sure sounds like Jordan.

All you have to do is stretch the imagination.

brozner@dailyherald.com