Gordon scores playoff high in loss to Celtics
His team having just picked up a technical foul with 7:02 left in the third quarter, Bulls guard Ben Gordon grabbed two fistfuls of teammate Joakim Noah’s jersey and told him to cool it.
And then Gordon caught fire.
Gordon scored 23 points after the incident with Noah, 42 points overall, and his team’s last 12 points of the game to help the Chicago Bulls mount another challenge to the Celtics on their home court before falling 118-115 in Game 2 of a first-round playoff series Monday night at TD Banknorth Garden. Gordon’s point total was a playoff career-high.
“We ran a lot of stuff for Ben, and Ben was converting,” said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. “He was fantastic.”
Fantastic only begins to describe the duel Gordon had with fellow ex-University of Connecticut player Ray Allen down the stretch Monday night. With the game on the ropes, Gordon hit a long jumper with 46.9 seconds remaining to put the Bulls up 113-112. Allen answered with a three-pointer with 25 seconds left to put the Celtics up two, forcing the Bulls to score on their final possession.
“It was almost personal,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of the duel between Gordon and Allen. “You know, that’s what you felt. That neither one was going to give into the other guy. It almost looked like they turned it into a personal battle. You know, ‘Who’s the best UConn player to ever play?’ And it was amazing.”
Gordon and Allen battled down to the game’s final play. Gordon drained a jumper with 12.3 seconds left to tie the game at 115, but the Bulls got caught up in a double-screen on Boston’s final possession, and Allen’s three-pointer with two seconds remaining in regulation prevented overtime and a possible 2-0 series deficit for the Celtics.
“We would have loved to win this game and head back to Chicago up 2-0,” said Gordon. “But we got a split, and that’s tough to do against the defending champs.”
The scoring spree wasn’t the only way Gordon used his veteran influence to lead his team. Tensions flared when Kendrick Perkins backed down Noah at the 7:02 mark in the third quarter and drew a foul. As Perkins walked away from the situation, Noah followed him and tried to stare him down, earning a technical foul in the process. Gordon intervened, grabbing Noah and pulling him out of the way before the excitable second-year player could escalate the situation.
“I’m happy with our overall effort, even though we did some things throughout the game when we had a couple mental lapses,” said Gordon. “We left everything out on the floor.”
Gordon is a veteran presence on a team of NBA novices. While the Bulls starting five has appeared in nine NCAA Tournament Final Four games, Gordon’s 23 playoff appearances are more than the rest of Chicago’s starting five has combined. His performance Monday night was particularly important given the sub par game of rookie Derrick Rose. Rose, who had 36 points and 11 assists in his playoff debut in a Game 1 victory over the Celtics, picked up two early fouls and didn’t score in Game 2 until the 7:15 mark of the second quarter. He finished the game with 10 points.
Despite Boston’s win, allowing back-to-back games of 36 and 42 points by Rose and Gordon respectively doesn’t sit well with Celtics players.
“The shots Gordon was taking, I mean he was playing like the MVP of the league tonight,” said Celtics center Kendrick Perkins.
Added captain Paul Pierce, “We have to do a better job collectively as a unit to slow down their backcourt.”
Gary Dzen can be reached at [email protected]
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