Morning Box Score: Bulls Force Game Seven With 3OT Win
By Benjy Lipsman in News on May 1, 2009 2:20PM
The Bulls and Celtics redefined "nail biter" last night, as the two teams battled through three more overtime periods before the Bulls prevailed 128-127 to force game seven to determine which team moves on to face Orlando in the second round. Down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series and facing elimination, the Bulls came out red hot Thursday night. John Salmons scored 16 first quarter points -- including three 3-pointers -- to help the Bulls score 37 points and hold an 11 point advantage after the first period. During the first, Rajon Rondo -- already the target of booing by the fans for his hard foul on Brad Miller in game 6 -- and Kirk Hinrich got into a bit of a melee after Rondo flung Hinrich into the scorers' table. This time the refs called the flagrant foul on Rondo, but also teed up Hinrich. Boston made a run at the Bulls throughout the second quarter, chipping away at their double digit lead until they tied up the game at 55 apiece late in the half. Ray Allen hit four of his nine three pointers during the period. Bulls held a two point lead at halftime, 59-57.
The teams traded leads in the third before a Bulls run gave then a seven point lead heading into the final period. The Bulls extended their lead to as many as 12 before Boston used an 18-0 run in the middle of the fourth to turn a 10 point deficit into an eight point lead; it looked like the Bulls were finally folding. Brad Miller hit a three and scored on a layup to help the Bulls catch up to the Celtics in the waning seconds of regulation. Both teams had chances to win the game but missed shots -- the Bulls' Ben Gordon missing a buzzer beater as time expired.
In the first OT, the Bulls opened up a four point lead before free throws helped Boston tie things up. Boston pulled out in front before Salmons' driving layup knotted the game at 109. Paul Pierce had a chance to win the game for Boston, but his jumper missed and sent the game into its second period of free basketball. Salmons continued to dominate in the second overtime, scoring the Bulls first seven points and keeping them ahead of Boston for most of the period. Two Brad Miller free throws with less than 20 seconds left looked like perhaps they might win the game for the Bulls, but Ray Allen hit yet another late three-pointer to send the game into its third extra period.
The two exhausted teams battled through the third overtime like they had in the first 58 minutes of the game, with neither team able to pull away. Each time the Bulls grabbed a lead, Boston caught up. Even when Joakim Noah stole the ball, drove the length of the court for a layup and was fouled the Bulls couldn't put the game away. That gave then a three-point lead that Eddie House promptly trimmed to one. Brad Miller free throws returned the lead to three but a Rondo tip-in of his own miss again reduced the lead to one. Boston had the chance to take a lead with just seven seconds remaining, but Derrick Rose blocked Rondo's shot attempt. The Bulls held on to win by a single point after 63 minutes of play.
John Salmons led the Bulls with 35 points, while Derrick Rose added 28 points, eight boards and seven assists. Brad Miller scored a career playoff best 23 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Joakim Noah was a monster on the glass again with 15 rebounds. For Boston, Ray Allen scored 51 points, including 9 of 18 from behind three point line.
Having already set an NBA record with their third game going beyond regulation in game 5, the fourth overtime game extended that record and increased the total number of extra periods to seven for Chicago and Boston. No playoff team has ever played seven overtime sessions throughout an entire playoff run let alone a single series. We're exhausted after watching that instant classic of a game, but we can't wait for the next one, either. The Bulls and Celtics tip off in Boston at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday night. Change your plans if you need to, because this series finale isn't to be missed.