Rivers argues illegal-screen fouls not being called both ways

BOSTON - A little off-day gamesmanship lightened Boston coach Doc Rivers in the wallet. Before Game 5, he told reporters that he'd been fined for comments about the officiating a day earlier.

"I'm the personal stimulus package right now," Rivers joked. "Actually, I think it is tax deductible, but I don't need any more deductions."

The topic a day earlier was illegal screens. Rivers admitted that Celtics center Kendrick Perkins deserves some of the fouls he gets, but Rivers argued that Bulls center Brad Miller does the same thing and is not whistled. Here's how Rivers was quoted in the Boston Herald:

"I've gotta say this about Perk - clearly every game he's been targeted for these moving screens," Rivers said. "He gets them every game. Watching the tape last night, he did move but there was very little contact. Brad Miller, on the other hand, he's laying guys out on screens and didn't get one of those calls. That bothers me."

Perkins went even farther when discussing the officials.

"I don't think the refs like the Boston Celtics," Perkins said Monday. "We've got a lot of talkers on this team, if you know what I mean."

Perkins played 48 minutes in Game 5 and wasn't charged with a foul. The Bulls finished with a 32-24 edge in free-throw attempts. The Bulls are plus-13 in trips to the line for the series.

Gordon plays through pain: Bulls leading scorer Ben Gordon logged nearly 51 minutes Tuesday, even though his status was questionable until about an hour before game time because of a left hamstring strain suffered early in Game 4.

Gordon led the Bulls with 26 points but hit just 6 of 21 shots, including a 20-footer at the end of regulation that could have won it.

"I shot 6-for-21, so (the hamstring) definitely didn't have a good effect," Gordon said. "But I think this was still a very winnable game, regardless of how I shot the ball. I took some painkillers, still couldn't really push off the way I wanted to. But once you're out there, nobody cares if you're injured or not. So I just tried to give it everything I had and tried to give us a chance to win."

Doc sees another Worm: Before Tuesday's game, Boston coach Doc Rivers compared Bulls center Joakim Noah to Dennis Rodman - in a positive way. Noah had 17 rebounds and 11 points in Game 5.

"I think everybody gets caught up in Noah with all the other stuff. But he's a terrific player," Rivers said. "He does so many little things. I don't want to put him that category of a (Dennis) Rodman, but everybody always got caught up in Rodman's antics. They always forgot what he did on the floor with his rebounds and his defense and his energy and his passing. We know exactly what (Noah) is - he's a good player."

Bull horns: The Celtics honored Richard Phillips, the ship captain who gave himself up to pirates in exchange for the safety of his crew, during a second quarter timeout. ... The second-loudest celebrity ovation was given to Christopher Mintz-Plasse, the actor who played McLovin in the movie "Superbad." He sat a few seats down from the Celtics bench.