Bulls' season ends with 109-99 loss to Celtics

BOSTON - Except for one stretch of the second quarter, the Bulls managed the pressure of playing Game 7 in a hostile Boston Garden very well.

The problem is, that's like saying other than the one iceberg, the Titanic had a terrific maiden voyage.

The Bulls were outscored 22-2 during an awful final eight minutes of the second quarter and fell behind by 14 points at halftime. Otherwise, they outplayed the defending champion Celtics for most of the other 40 minutes

America was clamoring for another thrilling finish to cap one of the most dramatic playoff series in NBA history. But the Bulls just couldn't deliver a big shot late in the game that would have made the Celtics and their fans sweat.

The visitors failed to score on eight possessions in the fourth quarter trailing by 6 points or less. As a result, they lost the series and ended their season with a 109-99 defeat in Saturday's Game 7. Boston will host Game 1 of its second-round series against the Orlando Magic on Monday.

Inside the Bulls locker room, an exhausted Joakim Noah leaned back in his locker with a towel draped over his head while his teammates gave interviews or headed for the bus.

"It's hard that it's over just like that," Noah finally said. "We had so many great moments in the last two weeks. It's just tough that it's over right now."

After the final horn, a few of the Celtics lingered on the floor to offer encouragement to the Bulls. Ray Allen delivered messages to both Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon.

"Ray Allen just told me to keep my head up," Rose said. "It was just all positive stuff."

"He just said we did the school (Connecticut) proud," Gordon said. "He told me, 'Rally your young guys together and you'll be a good team.'"

The Bulls headed into the fourth quarter trailing 78-71. After 6 straight points by Kirk Hinrich pulled the visitors within 81-77, Hinrich missed an open 3-pointer, then the Bulls got a tough break. Stephon Marbury missed badly, the Celtics got the long rebound and found Eddie House open in the corner for a 3-pointer that made it 84-77 with 8:48 remaining. House got a technical foul after the basket for turning around and barking at the Bulls bench.

After the Bulls were given an extra point that had been mistakenly left off a Gordon 3-pointer in the first quarter, the visitors missed a great opportunity to get into the game. Trailing 91-86 for three straight offensive possessions, Salmons couldn't finish a contested lane drive and misfired on a corner 3-pointer, then Hinrich and Salmons couldn't connect on a bounce pass and the ball rolled out of bounds.

The Celtics finally scored on a couple of free throws by Kendrick Perkins to go up by 7 with 2:53 left and House knocked down another 3-pointer on their next trip.

"Our offense really wasn't in sync 100 percent the whole game," Salmons said. "We kind of fell into their trap. They load up on the strong side and we just weren't moving the ball like we were earlier in the series."

Gordon led the Bulls with 33 points, but hit just 2 of 14 shots in the second half. Salmons went 3 of 12 from the field for 12 points. Hinrich (16 points) was solid off the bench and Noah grabbed 15 rebounds. Rose was good for three quarters, and produced 18 points, but took just 1 shot and didn't score in the fourth.

"We were running plays," Rose said. "I'm still a point guard, I've got to give people the ball."

The Bulls played very well in the first quarter and led 32-23 early in the second. With 8:02 left in the first half, Tyrus Thomas knocked down a long jumper to put the Bulls ahead 36-30.

During the rest of the quarter, though, the Bulls' offense hit a brick wall. The visitors went 0 for 8 from the field, missed 4 free throws and committed an alarming 8 turnovers.

"It's almost like we were speeding up on offense," Hinrich said. "When in reality, it felt like we needed to speed up on defense and slow down a little bit on offense. They did a great job defensively and that's pretty much the game."

Allen led Boston with 23 points and Paul Pierce added 20, while the Celtics bench made an impact for the first time all series.

Mike McGraw's game tracker

Second-quarter stinker: The Bulls showed excellent poise and confidence in Game 7, except for a brutal eight-minute stretch of the second quarter when they were outscored 22-2 while missing 8 shots, 4 free throws and committing 8 turnovers.

Cold-shooting Bulls: Neither of the injured Bulls shot the ball well. Ben Gordon (hamstring) scored 33 points while hitting 7 of 22 shots from the field. John Salmons (groin) made 3 of 12 attempts for just 12 points. Derrick Rose had 18 points but was quiet in the fourth quarter.

Welcome to the playoffs: Boston's bench was almost completely invisible for six games, but it came alive when it counted. Eddie House (16 points) and Brian Scalabrine both knocked down multiple 3-point baskets.

See you next season: The Bulls are 0-6 all time on the road in seventh games on the road.

Chicago had eight turnovers and missed four free throws during the stretch.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=290908">Images from the Bulls' Game 7 against the Celtics </a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=290916">Imrem: Bottom line: Bulls need to improve <span class="date">[05/02/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=290900&src=150">Hunter likes the way Bulls came together <span class="date">[05/02/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=290895&src=150">Die-hards stick with their Bulls <span class="date">[05/02/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>