Celtics fall to Tibs & Co., 93-86
The battles between the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics are always epic with these two teams practically being mirror images of each other. Tonight, the Bulls got the better of the two with a 93-86 victory over the Celtics, coming off a tough loss last night in Boston.
Boston did a great job in the first half coming out with energy. Often pushing the tempo with Avery Bradley starting, while Ray Allen coming off the bench paid dividends with a first quarter lead. No basket in this game came easy with the style of defense both teams play. Each point was earned as a last man standing battle was unfurling.
In the second quarter is where most of the damage done by the Celtics occurred. Finish the quarter strong was the most impressive aspect of this quarter allowing Boston to head into halftime with an eleven point lead. Rebounding has not been an issue in this game so far for the Celtics, however, the Celtics continue to struggle getting to the free throw line.
The third quarter is where the game took a turn for the worse for Rajon Rondo and company. Between Avery Bradley and Ray Allen, they only have 14 points combined. Chicago had more energy, was aggressive which led to free throws and made their three pointers to take advantage of the lead in this quarter.
Outside of Paul Pierce, this offense has not been able to find any rhythm. The fatigue began to catch up to Boston in the fourth quarter as they turned the ball over carelessly as Chicago built their lead early on. Also, the Bulls have created second chance opportunities due to this fatigue with offensive rebounds. Kevin Garnett really struggled in this back to back as he was gassed by the start of the fourth quarter. Doc didn't do the best job managing his minutes in this game.
Chicago was able to take advantage of the tired Celtics as they pulled away in this game. Hard to blame the officials with the amount of offensive rebounds Chicago had. It is dangerous only looking at fouls calls and free throw attempts. Chicago's defense gets the benefit of the doubt because they have the best defense in the league. Tonight, the exhausted Celtics couldn't hold on.