The Boston Celtics Fall to the Chicago Bulls 100-99
Jan 18, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Chicago Bulls small forward Jimmy Butler (with ball) collides with Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (bottom) during the second half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
It took overtime to decide a winner, but the Chicago Bulls came out on top of the Boston Celtics tonight. It took a last second shot from Marco Bellineli with only 3.1 seconds left on the clock to win it.
The shot came off of what ended up being beautiful ball movement around Joakim Noah at the top of the left wing. This is a common set that the Bulls run where Noah will feed Boozer on the low block and a series of backdoor cuts will ensue. Jason Terry initially played good defense, but there is no good defense for the perfect shot. Bellineli knocked it down. Both teams played hard.
Getting into the grades, the only Celtic who really played a good game was Rajon Rondo. He ended up fouling out in overtime on a lose ball dive. It was a shame to see such a great game end like that for him, but that’s how the ball rolls sometimes.
Starters
Rajon Rondo: A+
Rondo finished the game with a season high 30 points on 21 shots with only five assists. That five assist total is the most telling part about the Celtics game because no one really stepped up besides Rondo and Courtney Lee.
Leandro Barbosa: D
Barbosa only shot 2 of 6 from the field and finished the game with five points. He was awful defensively and didn’t contribute very much on offense either. To be honest, I’m probably being gracious with this grade.
Paul Pierce: C
Pierce had an awful shooting night. He only made 5 of 17 shots on the night and had 13 points. He did a nice job defensively tonight on Luol Deng–before he got hurt–and contributed to some plays in the end of the game. There was a questionable jump ball he faiiled to win before the game was sent into overtime. It was a pretty ridiculous call and you could see how livid Pierce was.
Brandon Bass: B
Bass had a nice showing in limited minutes tonight. He 10 points on a night where he shot 4 of 6 from the field. He made some contributions late as well.
Kevin Garnett: C
He didn’t really contribute much to the Celtics effort tonight. He played great defense as always, but failed to produce consistently on the offensive end. He scored 16 points on 16 shots. That just didn’t get it done at the end of the day.
Bench
Jason Terry: B
Terry came in and went 3 of 5 from the field for the night and scored nine points. He was a key contributor in helping the Celtics almost pull out a win with multiple clutch shots at thee end of the game. He gave a valiant effort on the final defensive possession of the game for the Celtics and that’s all you can really ask for.
Jared Sullinger: B+
Sullinger looks like he’ll be a keeper for Boston if they don’t choose to deal him for a player that’s available first. I don’t think that would be the wisest decision right now. His stock is high but he’s playing very well. He had 15 total rebounds tonight and created a lot of extra chances for the C’s with five offensive rebounds.
Courtney Lee: C
Lee obviously didn’t have a good game shooting but he gave maximum effort on the glass and on defense. In a game where effort seemed to be few and far between certain players I thought he gave it his all.
Jeff Green: C-
Green has been one of the most up and down players in the league this season. His game tonight demonstrated that perfectly. He didn’t have an effect at all on the game and only shot 1 of 3 from the field. His 19 minutes says everything you need to know about this night for him.