Today may be Derby Day, but the real horse race takes place tonight in Boston. It’s all about the C’s and B’s. The Celtics host the Chicago Bulls in Game 7 one of the spiciest playoff series we’ve ever witnessed. The captivating and confounding classic closes out this evening at TD BankNorth Garden with an 8pm tip-off. The Eastern opponents have played seven overtimes in the first six games, including a Game 6 triple overtime Bulls win. If the first six are any indication of what to expect in the decisive game, NBA fans are in for another thrilling threat. Here is a quick recap of the first six wars.
Derrick Rose was the difference in Game 1. Rookie Rose pulled off a Michael Jordanesque performance in Boston with the support of teammates, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. The game went to overtime after Rose hit both free throws with 9.4 seconds left and the Bulls leading 97-96. Noah double-teamed Paul Pierce and blocked his jump shot but drew a foul on the play. Pierce was sent to the line. The Celtics shooter tied the game with his first free throw, but missed the second. Rose went 12 for 19 from the field and was perfect from the line until fouling out in overtime. Thomas had 16 points and scored the game-winning basket with a left corner jumper. Noah nailed 11 points to go along with a double-double. Rose’s 36 points and Noah’s 17 rebounds helped carve Chicago’s way to the 105-103 road win in Game 1. Boston, playing without injured Kevin Garnett, struggled to defend the point guard Rose and missed shot early in the game against the Bulls. The Chicago defense wasn’t fantastic but took advantage of Boston’s miscues. They led at halftime 53-44 and increased the lead to 11 in the second half. At the end of the third quarter, Boston outscored Chicago to re-take the lead entering the fourth.
Rose took over from there and Ben Gordon added 12 points in the final quarter. The Bulls fought off a late Celtics rally and kept bringing the pressure on Boston’s Ray Allen and Pierce. Then in the extra session, Thomas helped Chicago put it away, permitting six of the team’s eight points.
Game 2 was just as stunning as Ray Allen hit a three point shot with two seconds left. Allen’s basket notched the series at 1 and completed a 118-115 Celtics win. Boston grabbed an early lead in this game just five minutes into play. Rose was benched on four fouls but the Bulls managed to rally back and cut the lead. Chicago had a 36-35 advantage by the second quarter. At the half, Chicago held a nervous 61-58 lead. Gordon’s career high 42 points were tremendous but the Celtics were successful in out-rebounding Chicago. Point guard, Rajon Rondo, was gritty in snagging a triple-double for Boston. Rondo had 19 points, 16 assists and 12 rebounds. Allen helped score 30 points in the second half against his former college teammate at Uconn, Gordon and the Bulls. The Celtics converted any second chances into points and scored on four straight possessions with just about a minute left in regulation. Boston led by one point when Rondo collected a bucket from 18 feet. Gordon countered with his own tough shot to put the Bulls back on top as the clock showed 46 seconds. The teams exchanged leads again with an Allen three pointer. Gordon tied the game with 12 seconds left and overtime was imminent until Allen’s fade away finisher. The Bulls fought and defended well for the second straight game. They had 14 blocked shots, including six from Thomas and four from Noah. Boston had 9 steals to Chicago’s 7.
The fired up Celtics lead by 22 points at halftime of Game 3. Chicago missed their free throws and turned the ball over in front of their home fans at the United Center. Rondo scored 20 points, with nine coming in the opening quarter. Nine times, Chicago turned the ball over and missed 7 free throws in that quarter. Poor shooting killed the Bulls in the first half, especially with Pierce firing and making tough shots in cruise control mode. John Salmons and guard, Kirk Hinrich, each scored 14 for Chicago as the team had to play catch-up in the second half. Gordon finished with 15 points of his own but Rose only had nine buckets with seven turnovers. The aggressive Celtics’ swipe leaders were forward, Glen Davis and Rondo. Even misconceived Stephon Marbury contributed for the Celts. He scored 13 points off the bench. Chicago was never able to entirely erase the commanding Celtics first quarter lead.
The Bulls needed two overtimes to defeat the Celtics 121-118 in Sunday’s Game 4 contest. Even after Allen hit a three-pointer near the end of regulation, Chicago did not cave. Allen’s bucket tied the game at 96 to send the teams into overtime. The Bulls trailed by five with two minutes in OT number one but managed to force a second overtime on Gordon’s three pointer. Miller was in the middle of the nastiness, burying baskets all night. Noah collected 10 rebounds and the Bulls were helped by Hinrich’s 18 swishes. Hinrich contained Pierce throughout the game. The Bulls problems with timeouts have hurt them in this series, but this night they were able to suffice. They never trailed in the second session. Salmons struggled from the start, but finished with 20 points and four free throws in the game’s final 26 seconds. Rose also had trouble this game. He couldn’t hold on to the ball, committing seven turnovers. Rondo had two takeaways for Boston and is the leader in steal average this series for either team.
Pierce netted three shots in overtime to give Boston a 106-104 overtime win in Game 5.
The Tuesday night clash put the Celts on top 3-2 in the first round series. Bulls center, Brad Miller, was fouled by Rondo to give Chicago a chance to tie the game after Pierce’s last basket. Miller missed the two free passes for the scoring opportunity. The Celtics battled back from an 11 points deficit to force overtime in the fourth quarter. Pierce tied the game with just over 10 seconds in regulation and ended the game with 26 points. Rondo scored 28 for Boston and Gordon hit 26 while nursing a strained hamstring for the Bulls. Kendrick Perkins starred in rebounding 19 for the Celts and Davis added 21 points. Perkins also tied an NBA record with 48 minutes of play time without a being called for a foul. Offensively for the Bulls, Noah had 11 points and Salmons contributed 17. Thomas and Rose each had 8 rebounds, and Hinrich came off the bench to drill 19.
An instant classic occurred Thursday when Chicago and Boston survived a 128-127 triple overtime affair. In the fourth quarter, Chicago went from being 12 points up to 8 down in a mere six minutes. Allen amassed an outrageous 51 points. He also tied a playoff record with nine three pointers. Rondo dished out 19 assists for Boston and Salmons scored 35 for Chicago. Salmons clocked 60 minutes during the epic game. The Bulls looked exasperated and exhausted by the second overtime and Allen hit another three with 7.6 second left to force another five minutes. Noah’s free throw in the third session gave Chicago some breathing room and a 126-123 lead. Noah’s remarkable and memorable open-court steal on Pierce gave Chicago the lead they needed to end the masterpiece game at home.
This is one enduring series for two teams of hard nosed players. Five games have been decided by three points or less. The Bulls never folded against the polished, defending champion Celtics. The teams keep sticking it to each other in different and devastating ways. Underused players have stepped up for both teams, Miller for Chicago and Mikki Moore, Eddie House and Brian Scalabrine for Boston. Rose has rocked and been brilliant defensively, and Allen has let loose so often for the Celtics it’s hard to remember just how many times he’s scored. Pierce plants pure buckets and Gordon glowingly gnats offenders as a defensive presence. Rondo is an untiring point guard crucial to the Celts without Garnett available. He is capable of being the thorn in Rose’s side and turning it into overdrive offensively. Perkins has a great inside game and Davis sets screens superbly for Boston. The Bulls have a proven veteran in Hinrich to provide the energy Chicago needs to defeat Boston on the road. Hinrich and Gordon are money players but it’s Noah who show constant effort in pressuring dribblers. Thomas is also a quiet factor, trumping and taming the Boston big men. Tonight should be another classic battle between two teams both perfectly practiced and set up for victory. People questioned whether Boston’s chemistry would be the same without Garnett. They haven’t missed a beat yet. Doc Rivers represents a head coach who demonstrates a desire and determination to win. Chicago is a team with just enough scruffy players and chemistry to pull through too. Del Negro experimented with different starting sets and Gordon is his true symphony conductor on the court. It would be hard to live up to Game 6, but all Game 7’s are always awesome because of the elimination factor.
Parting points: Is Eric Chavez really on the DL again? It is unfortunate he cannot stay healthy.
Song for the day- “Give it up”-Linkin Park
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment