Celtics, 107-82 (final)
Lackluster.
The Bulls never showed up for this one, and the Celtics didn’t need 100 percent effort as they pulled away from Chicago early tonight and allowed the fans and players to have a little fun.
Tony Allen even dunked twice.
Chicago has beaten Detroit twice this season, but the Bulls were no Pistons tonight. Despite a plethora of talent, the Bulls failed to give the Celtics a game beyond the first quarter.
The Celtics deserve credit for putting the game out of reach defensively in the second quarter. The Celtics held the Bulls to six points in the first eight minutes of the second and built a 20-point lead with four minutes left before halftime. The lead never got much lower the rest of the way.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 22 points and seven rebounds in 27 minutes. Kevin Garnett had 12 points, seven rebounds, and five assists. Ray Allen had 18 points. James Posey had 11. Kendrick Perkins had 12. Tony Allen was the sixth Celtics player in double-figures.
The Bulls were led by Ben Gordon, who had 19 points on 5-of-12 shooting. Chicago shot 36 percent for the game.
The Celtics (13-1 at home) insisted before the game that one loss didn’t necessitate crisis mode, but it must have felt nice for them to have the game wrapped up in the first half. The Celtics starters stood at the end of the bench and cheered for their teammates down the stretch.
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