Bulls 109, Celtics 102: Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and Derrick Rose added 21 as visiting Chicago rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat Boston.
Joakim Noah collected 15 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and six blocks for the Bulls. Pau Gasol racked up 15 points and 15 boards and Aaron Brooks added 15 points off the bench for Chicago.
Jared Sullinger had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Avery Bradley added 18 points to lead the Celtics. Brandon Bass collected 16 points and nine rebounds and fellow reserve Evan Turner added 13 points.
The Celtics shot 59 percent in the first quarter to lead 35-24 after one period and stretched the advantage to 56-40 on Turner's bucket with 4:47 left in the half before the Bulls trimmed the margin to 60-54 at the break. Rose scored 12 points in the first four minutes of the second half, pulling Chicago even at 68 with a 3-pointer before Butler hit a jumper to give the Bulls the lead.
Bradley scored eight straight points during a 13-2 spurt and Sullinger hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Boston into the fourth with a 91-85 lead, and the Celtics were up 102-100 with 2:29 left. Boston missed its last seven shots as Chicago scored the final nine points — seven of them at the foul line.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The game marked the first in the last 11 matchups in which both Rose and Boston PG Rajon Rondo played. … The Celtics have lost five straight at home for the first time since 2006-07. … Boston dropped to 1-8 against teams with a .500 or better record at game time.
Chicago | Boston | |
Jimmy Butler 22 | Scoring | Jared Sullinger 23 |
Joakim Noah 6 | Assists | Rajon Rondo 9 |
Pau Gasol 15 | Rebounds | Jared Sullinger 10 |
Jimmy Butler 10 | Free Throws Made | Brandon Bass 6 |
Kirk Hinrich 2 | Steals | Evan Turner 2 |
Joakim Noah 6 | Blocks | Avery Bradley 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Chicago | 109 | 41.1 | 5-17 | 30-37 | 18 | 52 | 13 | 5 | 13 |
Boston | 102 | 40.2 | 6-22 | 22-29 | 20 | 42 | 2 | 7 | 13 |