Morning Box Score: Bulls Blown Out At Home

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Apr 24, 2009 2:40PM

After their surprising game one victory and close loss in game two coming on a buzzer beater, the Bulls looked up to the task of challenging the defending NBA champs in their best-of-seven series as it moved back to Chicago. With their rabid fans all dressed in red to give them the added boost, surely the Bulls could regain the series lead against the Boston Celtics, right?

Apparently, not so much.

Instead, the Bulls came out flat against the Celtics and ended up getting blown out 107-86. From the opening tip, the Bulls committed turnover after turnover, missed free throws, and shot poorly from the field. The Bulls fell behind by double digits early on, but unlike game 2 they were never able to get back into the game. Boston held an 11 point lead at the end of the first quarter, and extended that to 22 points by halftime. The Bulls fell behind by more than 30 points in the 4th quarter before narrowing the deficit only when the game was well out of reach. But at least we didn't have to worry about Vinny del Negro running out of timeouts at a critical point in the game.

The Bulls committed 22 turnovers -- 10 alone in the first quarter. Point guard Derrick Rose, who earlier in the night had received his Rookie of the Year trophy from commissioner David Stern, had seven turnovers compared to only two assists. He scored just nine points. Ben Gordon, coming off a 42 point outing in game 2 led the Bulls with 15 points, while John Salmons and Kirk Hinirch each scored 14. Paul Pierce led Boston with 24 points in just 28 minutes, with point guard Rajon Rondo chipping in 20 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.

"One team was in the playoffs and one team was in the preseason," commented Kirk Hinrich after the game. With even the national media jumping on the Bulls bandwagon after their performances in Boston, can the Bulls show that last night's game was the fluke, and that they remain worthy playoff competitors for the reigning NBA champs? Or have they woken up a giant who will now make quick work of Vinny del Negro's squad? We should be able to tell a lot about this team from the way they try to bounce back in Sunday's game four (noon at the United Center).