Celtics make it an in-your-face series after 106-104 OT win over Bulls
BOSTON - It figures that a game like this would be settled by a punch to the face.
This Bulls-Celtics first-round playoff series has been a closely contested brawl, and Tuesday's Game 5 fit right in. Trailing by 2 points with 3.4 seconds remaining in the third overtime game in this series, the Bulls ran a trick play and created an open lane for center Brad Miller to drive to the rim.
Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo reached out with one of his extra-long arms and smashed Miller in the mouth with an open hand trying to prevent the tying basket. Miller ended up on his knees, spitting not tobacco juice but blood. He eventually would need stitches to close a gash in his upper lip.
Flagrant foul? Not in Boston, it wasn't. And when a dazed Miller left his first free throw short and missed the rim trying to clang the second one on purpose, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead by hanging on for a 106-104 victory.
This is the first time in NBA history any playoff series has had three overtime games, and there is at least one more contest left to play Thursday at the United Center. A Bulls win would force Game 7 back in Boston on Saturday.
"We've got a lot of guys getting head shots this series, a whole lot of them and it hasn't been a flagrant," Miller said. "Everybody's had to shake off these high hits they've been putting on us."
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said he never considered asking for a substitute free-throw shooter. Miller shot 82.4 percent at the line during the regular season.
"That's a good shot to take to the head. I didn't see it, but I felt it," Miller said. "There's still no excuse (for missing the free throw)."
Despite the late-game controversy, the Bulls couldn't have asked for a better opportunity to take control of this series in hostile territory. They led by 10 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and had the ball with a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Ben Gordon (26 points) missed a 20-foot jumper.
On three straight possessions late in overtime, Paul Pierce isolated on Bulls forward John Salmons and never once tried to drive to the basket. Salmons blocked a Pierce 3-point attempt to clinch Game 4 in Chicago, but this time Pierce drilled three long jumpers, including a 20-foot fadeaway with 3.4 seconds left that provided the winning margin.
"I tried to play him like I've played him the whole series, tried to keep him in front of me," Salmons said. "That's what I wanted to do, make him shoot the jumper and just try to contest it. He made it."
The Bulls were on the ropes a few times in the extra session. Boston led 100-97 with just more than two minutes left before Gordon hit a tough bank shot in the lane, then Derrick Rose's steal and lay-in put the Bulls ahead by 1 with 1:36 remaining.
Pierce then knocked down a pair of jumpers surrounding a Gordon miss and the Celtics were back up by 3 with 36.5 seconds on the clock.
The Bulls got a break on their next trip when Gordon was able to draw a 3-shot foul on Tony Allen in front of the Boston bench. He knocked down the free throws to tie the score with 27.3 seconds on the clock.
Both teams seemed to be running on fumes at times in this game. Neither side has gone very deep into the bench during the series, and several players are dealing with injuries that would have merited time off in the regular season.
The Bulls found some energy at the start of the fourth. Already leading 70-66, Miller drained a corner 3-pointer to create the game's first 7-point lead. Gordon tacked on a couple of free throws, then Miller found Joakim Noah for a lay-in and the Bulls led 77-66 with 9:28 remaining. The lead still was at 10 points with seven minutes remaining.
"It's very disappointing having the kind of lead we had and letting them get back in the game," Gordon said.
After Boston guard Ray Allen (10 points) fouled out, Boston finally tied the score on Pierce's driving lay-in with 1:13 left. Gordon hit a 19-footer to put the Bulls up by 2 with 16.6 seconds left, and Pierce answered with a foul-line jumper over Rose with 10.5 seconds on the clock.
Mike McGraw's game tracker
Blood equals common foul: The Bulls couldn't believe Rajon Rondo wasn't given a flagrant foul when he swung his arm and smacked Brad Miller in the mouth with two seconds left in overtime, drawing blood and opening a gash that required stitches to close. A dazed Miller missed the 2 ensuing free throws and the Bulls fell short in Boston 106-104.
Gordon plays, but struggles: Ben Gordon shook off a left hamstring strain and played 51 minutes in Game 5, but he didn't locate the rim as well as usual. He drained just 6 of 21 shots but got to the foul line enough times to score 26 points. Kirk Hinrich tacked on 19 for the Bulls but missed the first six minutes of the fourth quarter while getting stitches above his right eye.
Visitors can't hold lead: The Bulls led by 10 with seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but couldn't hold on. Paul Pierce nailed 3 straight long jumpers in overtime to provide the margin of victory.
Another chance in two days: Even though the Celtics were the ones throwing punches - not quite literally, but almost - the Bulls seemed to have the defending champs on the ropes in this one. The Bulls can force a Game 7 by winning Thursday at the United Center.
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