After falling behind at the end of the 1st quarter, the Boston Celtics ramped up their defense and used a 22-2 run to close out the 2nd quarter as they held off the Chicago Bulls to win 109-99 in front of a sold-out TD Banknorth Garden to advance to the second round of the NBA Playoffs.
The Celtics will take on the #3 seeded Orlando Magic in the 2nd round in a series that starts on Monday night in Boston.
Coming off a huge Game 6 that saw him score 51 points, Ray Allen followed with 23 points to lead the Celtics. Paul Pierce added 20 points while Glen “Big Baby” Davis added 15. Kendrick Perkins chipped in with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
For the first time all series, the Celtics got some good play from their bench as Eddie House had 16 points and Brian Scalabrine added 8.
Ben Gordon led all scorers in the game with 33 points. Derek Rose finished with 18 points and after a slow start, Kirk Hinrich added 16. Joakim Noah added 7 points and 15 rebounds before fouling out late in the 4th quarter.
It was one of the best first round series in NBA history. But the question remains, will the Celtics be too tired to take on the Magic on Monday night?
Without Kevin Garnett to cover Orlando Magic, things could be tough for them. Let’s hope their legs are back for Monday night’s game.
