Celtics Make Bulls See Red After 106-80 Beatdown
December 12, 2009 by Lee Herman
What was billed as a rematch of last year’s scintillating playoff series between Boston (19-4) and Chicago (8-14) turned out to have all the edge of your seat excitement of a Matlock rerun.
The Celtics flat out drubbed the Bulls with seven players finishing with double digits in scoring. It was the fourth game in a row that all five starters scored in double figures. The only facet of the game the Bulls held an advantage in was rebounding pulling down 55 to the C’s 49. It hardly matters how many boards you grab when you only shoot 32 percent from the field.
After a tightly contested first quarter that included a flagrant foul on Chicago’s Brad Miller for clotheslining Rajon Rondo on the way to a lay up the Celtics took it to the Bulls offensively and defensively.
Kendrick Perkins led the way with three blocks and Boston swatting 13 as a team. Kevin Garnett and Rondo collected double doubles each, KG posting 12 PTS and 10 REB while Rajon added 16 PTS and 14 AST. Boston’s offense was really spread around and the bench showed up to shoot tonight and outscored the Chicago reserves 44-27.
Derek Rose showed no signs of a sophomore slump scoring 19 points and collecting 5 assists. Luol Deng had 17 PTS in what looked like was going to be a big night for him with Paul Pierce defending and apparently having no answer. Pierce eventually buckled down after having another quiet night (4-12 from the field for 14 points) and held Deng down for the rest of the game and kept his at a respectable 5-16 shooting.
Ultimately it was the strong play from the Celtic bench that gave Boston a comfortable lead with Eddie House and Rasheed Wallace scoring 15 each and posting 20+ minutes of floor time. Rasheed has also been strong on the block as of late which is a good sign because he has the talent to post up just about any player. It’s good for the C’s because when he comes in for KG he really needs to be an inside presence.
The good news is Boston held onto to a big league and give their starters a rest. Hopefully that trend continues for the rest of the road trip that grinds along to Memphis and the more HD friendly Gasol brother.
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December 13, 2009 at 8:31 am | Nick Gelso
Great recap Lee.
Let me ask you this…
Is Paul Pierce “masking” an injury? I his body banged up?
He has struggled badly the last three games (maybe four?). Last night was no different and he came up lame a few times during the game…
Once holding his shoulder and again grasping at his right knee.
Do you have any reason to believe he may be hiding an injury?
Just curious…
December 13, 2009 at 9:51 am | Lee Herman
I don’t know if Pierce is trying to hide an injury of if its just a cold stretch. I did see where he was sandwiched and came up holding his shoulder but it didn’t really seem to concern him later. Pierce did score 26 in Oklahoma a few games ago and it’s not like he isn’t getting at least 10 in just about every game (he’s averaging 18).
Also, he’s still going strong to the rack and taking a ton of contact with no fouls getting called which is probably a more likely scenario as to why he’s struggling. He may not be able to bounce back as quickly from the pounding his body takes when three dude’s collapse on him in the paint.
December 13, 2009 at 4:01 pm | Gino's Jungle (BPAUL)
I brought the same question up in “the pit” (CSL Chatroom) the other night. Justin made a good point when he said that it’s a good thing if Pierce isn’t scoring as much. It might seem crazy at first, but if the Celtic’s are winning with Pierce scoring 10-15 points then that means the rest of the team is doing its job. The time’s when we see Pierce go off for 25-30 is when he has to pick up the slack for the rest of the team.