Morning Box Score: Bulls Fall in Game 7

By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 3, 2009 3:00PM

When the playoffs began, nobody would have even expected the Bulls to be playing on Saturday night, because doing so would have meant pushing the reigning NBA champs to seven games in their open round playoff series. And yet the Bulls extended the series to a final, deciding game in dramatic fashion, with four overtime games and seven total OT periods. Saturday night's game wasn't quite that close, but there were still moments where the upset seemed possible. In the end, though, Boston prevailed over the Bulls 109-99, ending the Bulls' season.

The Bulls fought a good fight on Saturday, jumping out to an early lead thanks to 17 first quarter points by Ben Gordon. But Boston upped their play in the second quarter, outscoring the Bulls by 18 points and holding Chicago to just 11 points in the quarter. The Bulls scrapped their way back in the third quarter. Things got a little wacky in the the fourth quarter when the Bulls were given an extra point, as a Ben Gordon 3 earlier in the game had only been credited as a two-point shot. Followed by a pair of Gordon free throws, that cut the lead to 89-86. Still, the Bulls couldn't take advantage of their chances and the Celtics did, pulling away to finally grab the series from the Bulls.

Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 33 points and Derrick Rose added 18, while Kirk Hinrich added 16 off the bench. Afterward, Coach Vin said, "We had a lot of young guys who went through it for the first time. I think that will help us in the future. Whenever you can go through an experience like this, I think it's only going to make you better. Knowing how the level of physicality goes up, knowing how playoff basketball is played. ... It's a great learning experience for us.'' After a stirring first-round performance, the Bulls have fans repeating a familiar Chicago refrain: wait til next year.