POST GAME CHICAGO

Great character building game for the Celtics and they respond with a win despite Tommy T. laying on some tough defense in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

What was very positive was the balanced scoring the Celtics had with 5 players in double figures - Bass 16pts/ Pierce 10pts/ KG 15pts/Rondo 20pts/ Terry 13pts.

Still got out rebounded by Chicago 40/34 but we led in assists 28/24.

Like Jeff Green's play in that he attempted to attack the paint even though he did not figure promently in the scoring - 7pts/5 rebs.

NEXT GAME - WEDNESDAY - HOME - 7:30PM - UTAH JAZZ - CSNE/NBA LEAGUE PASS

POST GAME RECAP WEEI


FAST BREAK: RAJON RONDO, CELTICS GET THE BETTER OF BULLS 11.12.12 at 10:36 pm ET
By Rob Bradford | No Comments


Rajon Rondo blows by Chicago's Joakim Noah during the Celtics' win Monday night. (AP)

No Derrick Rose. No Kirk Hinrich. No problem.

Rajon Rondo sliced and diced his way through a Bulls’ lineup without their two top guards – Rose (knee) and Hinrich (hip) are both injured – on the way to an 101-95 win over Chicago Monday night.

The Celtics led the whole way — with the Bulls closing to two late in the fourth quarter — thanks in large part to Rondo, who owned both former Celtic Nate Robinson and rookie Marquis Teague on the way to scoring 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field . He also added 10 assists and nine rebounds.

All five the Celtics’ starting five finished in double-figures, with Brandon Bass (16 points), Paul Pierce (10), Kevin Garnett (15) and Jason Terry (13) all pitching in for a C’s squad that finished at 50 percent shooting from the floor. In fact, it marked the first time in 15 games that Chicago had allowed 100 points.

Here is what went right (and wrong) for the Celtics in their fourth win of the season:

WHAT WENT RIGHT

- The Celtics turned in perhaps their best half of the season, not only claiming a 58-46 lead, but also shooting 59 percent against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. In fact, it was the third highest first-half percentage allowed by the Bulls since head coach Tom Thibodeau took over.

- The Celtics set the tone with a 33-point first quarter, in which they only turned the ball over once

- The Celtics extended their NBA-best active streak of winning after three quarters, carrying an 82-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The streak now stands at 27 straight games, with the Lakers second at 13.

- Jared Sullinger capped the scoring in the third quarter by making his first NBA 3-pointer.

- With the Bulls having closed the gap to three points, and the Celtics going two for their last 12 from the floor, Jason Terry knocked down a jumper with 4:52 left, giving the C’s the momentum back for good.

- Chris Wilcox played his best game of the season, scoring seven points in 19 minutes, including some key moments in the final minutes while Kevin Garnett rested.

- Doc Rivers drew up a pair of well-executed alley-oops to from Rondo to Garnett coming out of timeouts in the final few minutes, including one which got the visitors’ lead back to four with 41 seconds left.

- By feeding Brandon Bass for a dunk with 20 second remaining, Rondo’s streak of notching at least 10 assists stretched to 31 games.

WHAT WENT WRONG

- With 49 seconds remaining and the Celtics leading by four, Luol Deng missed both free throws, but managed to take advantage of Taj Gibson’s offensive rebound with a subsequent lay-in, closing the gap to two.

- The Celtics went cold in the fourth quarter, scoring just 19 points while allowing the Bulls to close within a pair.

- The Celtics suffered a few minor injuries in the first half, with Bass dislocating high right ring finger, and Jeff Green suffering a mild right ankle sprain. The ailment didn’t seem to deter Bass, who came back to finish a strong first half (12 points). Green also returned.

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ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid reaction: Celtics 101, Bulls 95

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Kevin Garnett and the Celtics came out inspired in Chicago.
Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 101-95 on Monday night at the United Center:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double and settled for 20 points, 10 assists (more on that later), nine rebounds, and five steals over 37:23. Rondo was 10-of-16 shooting from the field and keyed everything Boston did offensively. All five of Boston's starters landing in double figures in Brandon Bass (16), Kevin Garnett (15), Jason Terry (13), and Paul Pierce (10). Despite a fourth-quarter lull, the Celtics shot 50.6 percent (41 of 81) and hung a rare triple digit on old friend Tom Thibodeau's vaunted Chicago defense. Luol Deng finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bulls, while Joakim Noah added 17 points and 11 boards.

TURNING POINT 1: C'S START FAST
The Celtics cranked the tempo from the jump and -- in only committing one first-quarter turnover -- erupted for 33 points in the first frame while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor. Boston was 14 of 19 overall inside the 3-point arc and led by as much as 11. The Celtics kept Chicago at arm's length most of the night despite some feverish charges, including...

TURNING POINT 2: TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Boston's offense finally went cold in the final frame and Chicago trimmed a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit down to 3 with 8:23 to go. That's where the game stood for 3½ excruciating minutes before Terry (finally) drilled a 21-foot jumper with 4:54 to go. It was Boston's first bucket in over five minutes of action. The Bulls got within 2 (95-93) with 49 seconds to go, but the Celtics got a way-too-easy Rondo-to-Garnett lob out of a timeout for an easy bucket that helped seal the win.

BOLD PLAY OF THE GAME
Bass put together a nice little sequence late in the second quarter, first blocking a Carlos Boozer fadeaway to start a fastbreak going the other way. When Leandro Barbosa's layup trickled off the rim, a hustling Bass was able to tip it to highlight a 10-0 run that had Boston out front 51-38 with 3:24 to play in the first half.

THE STREAK LIVES!
Rondo's streak of 30 games with double-digits assists seemed doomed with him sitting on seven helpers with under three minutes to go. A couple alley-oops to Garnett put him on the brink and Rondo found Bass wide open under the basket late in the game to push the streak to 31 games.

LOOSE BALLS: BUMPS AND BRUISES
Bass suffered a right ring finger displacement midway through the first quarter and trainer Ed Lacerte could be seen trying to put it back into place on the bench. Bass got taped up and put together one of his best efforts of the year... Jeff Green suffered a mild right ankle sprain after stepping on Garnett's foot on a drive to the basket early in the second quarter. He played 15:14 and kicked in seve points on 3-of-7 shooting.

WHAT IT MEANS
Forget how close it got late, this was Boston's best win of the season by a landslide. Sure, the Bulls don't have Derrick Rose (or even Kirk Hinrich) at the moment, but there's still plenty of talent here and the Celtics stormed into the United Center and put on an offensive clinic for the first three quarters. Between Monday's win and Saturday's triumph in Milwaukee, there's plenty to build off of here. For the Celtics, this is only the first of five games over a seven-day span. Boston hosts Utah on Wednesday, before heading back out on the road for a national TV battle with Brooklyn on Thursday. The weekend features a back-to-back that starts with a visit from Toronto on Saturday before Boston treks to Detroit on Sunday.

112288

112288 wrote:Great character building game for the Celtics and they respond with a win despite Tommy T. laying on some tough defense in the 3rd and 4th quarters.

What was very positive was the balanced scoring the Celtics had with 5 players in double figures - Bass 16pts/ Pierce 10pts/ KG 15pts/Rondo 20pts/ Terry 13pts.

Still got out rebounded by Chicago 40/34 but we led in assists 28/24.

Like Jeff Green's play in that he attempted to attack the paint even though he did not figure promently in the scoring - 7pts/5 rebs.

NEXT GAME - WEDNESDAY - HOME - 7:30PM - UTAH JAZZ - CSNE/NBA LEAGUE PASS

POST GAME RECAP WEEI


FAST BREAK: RAJON RONDO, CELTICS GET THE BETTER OF BULLS 11.12.12 at 10:36 pm ET
By Rob Bradford | No Comments


Rajon Rondo blows by Chicago's Joakim Noah during the Celtics' win Monday night. (AP)

No Derrick Rose. No Kirk Hinrich. No problem.

Rajon Rondo sliced and diced his way through a Bulls’ lineup without their two top guards – Rose (knee) and Hinrich (hip) are both injured – on the way to an 101-95 win over Chicago Monday night.

The Celtics led the whole way — with the Bulls closing to two late in the fourth quarter — thanks in large part to Rondo, who owned both former Celtic Nate Robinson and rookie Marquis Teague on the way to scoring 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field . He also added 10 assists and nine rebounds.

All five the Celtics’ starting five finished in double-figures, with Brandon Bass (16 points), Paul Pierce (10), Kevin Garnett (15) and Jason Terry (13) all pitching in for a C’s squad that finished at 50 percent shooting from the floor. In fact, it marked the first time in 15 games that Chicago had allowed 100 points.

Here is what went right (and wrong) for the Celtics in their fourth win of the season:

WHAT WENT RIGHT

- The Celtics turned in perhaps their best half of the season, not only claiming a 58-46 lead, but also shooting 59 percent against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. In fact, it was the third highest first-half percentage allowed by the Bulls since head coach Tom Thibodeau took over.

- The Celtics set the tone with a 33-point first quarter, in which they only turned the ball over once

- The Celtics extended their NBA-best active streak of winning after three quarters, carrying an 82-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The streak now stands at 27 straight games, with the Lakers second at 13.

- Jared Sullinger capped the scoring in the third quarter by making his first NBA 3-pointer.

- With the Bulls having closed the gap to three points, and the Celtics going two for their last 12 from the floor, Jason Terry knocked down a jumper with 4:52 left, giving the C’s the momentum back for good.

- Chris Wilcox played his best game of the season, scoring seven points in 19 minutes, including some key moments in the final minutes while Kevin Garnett rested.

- Doc Rivers drew up a pair of well-executed alley-oops to from Rondo to Garnett coming out of timeouts in the final few minutes, including one which got the visitors’ lead back to four with 41 seconds left.

- By feeding Brandon Bass for a dunk with 20 second remaining, Rondo’s streak of notching at least 10 assists stretched to 31 games.

WHAT WENT WRONG

- With 49 seconds remaining and the Celtics leading by four, Luol Deng missed both free throws, but managed to take advantage of Taj Gibson’s offensive rebound with a subsequent lay-in, closing the gap to two.

- The Celtics went cold in the fourth quarter, scoring just 19 points while allowing the Bulls to close within a pair.

- The Celtics suffered a few minor injuries in the first half, with Bass dislocating high right ring finger, and Jeff Green suffering a mild right ankle sprain. The ailment didn’t seem to deter Bass, who came back to finish a strong first half (12 points). Green also returned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

ESPNBOSTON.COM

Rapid reaction: Celtics 101, Bulls 95

By Chris Forsberg | ESPNBoston.com

Kevin Garnett and the Celtics came out inspired in Chicago.
Rapid reaction after the Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls 101-95 on Monday night at the United Center:

THE NITTY GRITTY
Rajon Rondo flirted with a triple-double and settled for 20 points, 10 assists (more on that later), nine rebounds, and five steals over 37:23. Rondo was 10-of-16 shooting from the field and keyed everything Boston did offensively. All five of Boston's starters landing in double figures in Brandon Bass (16), Kevin Garnett (15), Jason Terry (13), and Paul Pierce (10). Despite a fourth-quarter lull, the Celtics shot 50.6 percent (41 of 81) and hung a rare triple digit on old friend Tom Thibodeau's vaunted Chicago defense. Luol Deng finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Bulls, while Joakim Noah added 17 points and 11 boards.

TURNING POINT 1: C'S START FAST
The Celtics cranked the tempo from the jump and -- in only committing one first-quarter turnover -- erupted for 33 points in the first frame while shooting 63.6 percent from the floor. Boston was 14 of 19 overall inside the 3-point arc and led by as much as 11. The Celtics kept Chicago at arm's length most of the night despite some feverish charges, including...

TURNING POINT 2: TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
Boston's offense finally went cold in the final frame and Chicago trimmed a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit down to 3 with 8:23 to go. That's where the game stood for 3½ excruciating minutes before Terry (finally) drilled a 21-foot jumper with 4:54 to go. It was Boston's first bucket in over five minutes of action. The Bulls got within 2 (95-93) with 49 seconds to go, but the Celtics got a way-too-easy Rondo-to-Garnett lob out of a timeout for an easy bucket that helped seal the win.

BOLD PLAY OF THE GAME
Bass put together a nice little sequence late in the second quarter, first blocking a Carlos Boozer fadeaway to start a fastbreak going the other way. When Leandro Barbosa's layup trickled off the rim, a hustling Bass was able to tip it to highlight a 10-0 run that had Boston out front 51-38 with 3:24 to play in the first half.

THE STREAK LIVES!
Rondo's streak of 30 games with double-digits assists seemed doomed with him sitting on seven helpers with under three minutes to go. A couple alley-oops to Garnett put him on the brink and Rondo found Bass wide open under the basket late in the game to push the streak to 31 games.

LOOSE BALLS: BUMPS AND BRUISES
Bass suffered a right ring finger displacement midway through the first quarter and trainer Ed Lacerte could be seen trying to put it back into place on the bench. Bass got taped up and put together one of his best efforts of the year... Jeff Green suffered a mild right ankle sprain after stepping on Garnett's foot on a drive to the basket early in the second quarter. He played 15:14 and kicked in seve points on 3-of-7 shooting.

WHAT IT MEANS
Forget how close it got late, this was Boston's best win of the season by a landslide. Sure, the Bulls don't have Derrick Rose (or even Kirk Hinrich) at the moment, but there's still plenty of talent here and the Celtics stormed into the United Center and put on an offensive clinic for the first three quarters. Between Monday's win and Saturday's triumph in Milwaukee, there's plenty to build off of here. For the Celtics, this is only the first of five games over a seven-day span. Boston hosts Utah on Wednesday, before heading back out on the road for a national TV battle with Brooklyn on Thursday. The weekend features a back-to-back that starts with a visit from Toronto on Saturday before Boston treks to Detroit on Sunday.

112288

I noticed this point in the "what went right" section of Rob Bradford's article:


- The Celtics extended their NBA-best active streak of winning after three quarters, carrying an 82-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The streak now stands at 27 straight games, with the Lakers second at 13.


How have do the Celtics have a streak of 27 straight games of winning after three quarters when, in the opening game of this season they trailed Miami 93-76 after three? Here is the boxscore:

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/boxscore;_ylt=AoBrNh5gsyQqpyoi8SCwlplnPaB4?gid=2012103014

Another nice win.

Dboss

steve3344,

Perhaps he meant,

The Celtics extended their NBA-best active streak of winning . . .

the game after leading . . .

after three quarters, carrying an 82-70 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The streak now stands at 27 straight games, with the Lakers second at 13.

So, when the Celtics have the lead after three quarters, they tend to go on to win the game. Nice trend. 27 times straight means they closed last season on a good run.

The team's "reputation" in the last couple of seasons seemed to be the other way. I am glad to see the worm turned on this one!!

gyso

Hi,
Now the Celtics have the first good win of the season.
They built on the previous game and continued to improve.
I'd like to note a nice, even spread of PT for all 10 players. KG was under 29 min and RR's under 38. Kudos to LB: he managed to hold the point while RR was resting and, he started to make a progress on the defensive end, too.

AK

Nice road win....

We don't get league pass anymore so only could watch the box score. Any good live online feeds ???

Anyway Rondo had 6 assists with a little over 4 minutes to go..... and ended up with 10.... streak is still alive. Looked for his shot a bit more instead of passing off. We won and he was the leading scorer so it worked I guess.

Out rebounded ..... again. Gave up an offensive board near the end on the second of two missed foul shots.... didn't see it so can't comment on lack of boxing out that particular time BUT even a clanked free throw should be taken down by the defensive team.

We shot over 50%, held them to 45% Took 7 more field goal attempts than the Bulls and made 7 more field goals. Volume shooting perhaps??

perfect from the line on 16 attempts.

Bench scored 27 but all five were a negative on the +- scale, while all starters were anywhere from a +10 to +19

Liked the minutes distribution as the bench all played 13-19 minutes each.
Now they just need to play better.

Lastly we did not go nuts turning the ball over and had only 8. Forced 13 thats 5 extra possessions and in a six point win thats big.

Is Darko breathing??

beat

Great game and the defense is starting to take shape. Players are not over committing and aside from a period where Noah beat KG to the hoop 3 times in a row, the overall team D was exceptional.

-Rondo played a great game, aside from a few times when he gambled on the rookie Teague and let him get by and to the hoop. His control of the team, his supreme confidence with the ball, and his ability to know where players are - really make me feel great about the future of this team. If you want to talk about scoring - you can mention Paul, Williams and Westbrook - if you want to talk about assists and great passing - Nash maybe. But as a floor general with a total package of what you want in a PG - Rondo has it over all of those guys.

Best Sign to me is he is starting to realize where his spot is as well...and instead of taking fall away jumpers - he dribbles to 16 feet, pulls up and is draining it. No one in the NBA will be able to stop him if he keeps developing that jumper.

-Bass played a great game. He dislocated his finger early in the game and came back and played hard on both ends. His defense continues to improve, and he is clearly a better player than Sully at this point - and needs to be the starter on most nights.

-Terry was calm as the other side of the pillow and hit a few real dagger shots.

-Pierce was a bit off, probably from chasing Deng around all night...but the captain stepped up and hit some big FT down the stretch.

-KG got beat a few times on D and was off with his shot, but is such a great anchor in the middle that he is always vital. If he goes down with an injury, the Celtics are done.

-Jeff Green made a few good moves, a few bad moves and then hurt his ankle. Glad to see him come back out for the 2nd half - hope he is ok.

-Lee didnt add much and didnt get much run. He controls his own destiny here. If he does not step it up, when Bradley comes back - he will be the 9th or 10th man. If he gets it together and plays to his potential, he will make the regular rotation and be a vital part of the team down the stretch.

As for the rebounding - that is about all the Bulls bring to the table at this point, throw up a brick and hope you can get the rebound. I am not concerned with that number against a team like Chicago.


Overall they are not quite there...but have turned a corner and look better and better as the game go forward.