Morning Box Score: Bulls Fall to Celtics on Buzzer Beater
By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 21, 2009 2:40PM
Having surprised everybody with their 105-103 overtime victory in game one, the Bulls looked to steal both games in Boston and return to Chicago with an incredible 2-0 series lead over the defending NBA champs. Surely, Saturday's performance by Derrick Rose and the rest of the Bulls was just a fluke, right? Unfortunately, Boston did end up winning Monday night's game, though the Bulls again played like Boston's equals. It took a Ray Allen 3-pointer with 2 seconds remaining for Boston to pull out the 118-115 win.
Boston jumped out to an early first quarter lead and seemed poised to exact revenge on the Bulls for humiliating the Celtics on their home court. Instead, the Bulls roared back, took the lead in the second quarter and entered the locker room at halftime up 61-58 margin. The Bulls and Celts battled throughout the second half. Ray Allen -- quiet for the first six quarters of the series -- came to life and scored 28 of his 30 points after intermission.
Matching Allen shot-for-shot was Ben Gordon, who sparked the Bulls with his 42 point outburst. Derrick Rose wilted a bit from his game 1 performance, scoring just 10 points and dishing 7 assists. He and fellow point guard Kirk Hinrich both got into early foul trouble, which limited their minutes somewhat and resulted in a rare Lindsey Hunter sighting. While Tyrus Thomas' shot weren't falling on Monday, he blocked six shots. Brad Miller added 16 points and a team-high 9 boards off the bench. Keeping Boston in the game before Allen's second half heroics, the Celtics got big games from Rajon Rondo, who had a triple-double (19 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds), and from Glen "Big Baby" Davis, who scored 26 points in place of Kevin Garnett.
Even with the loss on Monday, the Bulls can return home with a swagger that they withstood an onslaught from the mighty Celtics and battled to a draw. Tied at 1-1, the Bulls and Celtics return to Chicago and the United Center for game three on Thursday night. The Bulls will look to defend their home court and prove they can make a series of this match-up, while Boston looks to reassert itself as defending champion.