Coming off an emotional and thorough defeat at the hands of the Mavs in Boston last night, a sloppy, lethargic effort was to be expected by the Cs in Chicago against the playoff-bound Bulls. Sloppy? Yes. Lethargic? No. The Celtics took Chicago (without MVP candidate Jimmy Butler) to overtime after a Jared Sullinger put-back with two seconds left in regulation, but ran out of gas in the extra frame, falling 109-104.
The Celts’ best basketball came in the third quarter. Down 52-42 in the opening minutes and with every reason to pack it in on the second night of a home/away back-to-back, they ripped off a 25-7 run to take a 67-59 lead behind a scorching hot Evan Turner. Turner, playing in his home city, had 13 in the frame and finished with a season-high 29.
In the fourth, the Bulls again found breathing room, opening up an 87-82 lead with six minutes to play. The Celtics responded with a 9-2 run to take a 92-89 lead with four to play, spurred again by seven points from Turner.
Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose looked to salt the game away with a few hoops down the stretch, but after Taj Gibson made just one of two free throws late giving the Bulls a 99-97 lead, Sullinger put back a Jeff Green miss to force the extra session.
Despite a handful of turnovers to start OT, the Cs were down only two with under a minute to play. Rose then finished a tough, driving lay-up, ultimately putting the game out of reach.
The Green:
Evan Turner’s best scoring night in green. Turner was an efficient 12-22. Finishing with 29 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds (he did, however, have 7 turnovers)
Jared Sullinger finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds
Jae Crowder gave the Cs’ second unit a boost with 10 points in 15 minutes
The Gross:
The free throw disparity. The Celtics went 9-11 from the line while the Bulls went 29-40
While a few swallowed whistles on Celtics’ drives to the basket left fans frustrated, an easy correlation can be made between the huge rebounding disparity (including a 24-10 difference in offensive boards) and trips to the line. The Bulls out-rebounded the Celtics 59-45. The Cs were dominated on the boards last night against Dallas as well.
Tough shooting night for Jeff Green. Finishing just 4-18.
After submitting a 2-point, 4-rebound line against the Mavs, Kelly Olynyk followed up with a 0-point, 2-rebound night.
The Grid:
FG %: Celtics – 45%, Bulls – 37%
FG’s made: Celtics – 45, Bulls – 37
FT’s made: Celtics – 9, Bulls – 29
Woof.
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