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The Sports Network TSN
Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Rajon Rondo recorded his ninth career triple-
double with 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, helping the Boston Celtics
hold off the Chicago Bulls, 95-91, on Sunday.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 12 boards for the Celtics, who snapped a
two-game skid. JaJuan Johnson had 12 points off the bench and Chris Wilcox and
Ray Allen each donated 11 points.
C.J. Watson and Carlos Boozer had 22 points apiece for the Bulls, who played
their second straight game without guard Derrick Rose (back). Joakim Noah
tallied 16 points and nine rebounds.
Chicago had a five-game winning streak snapped but still managed to go 6-3 on
its nine-game road trip.
The Celtics led for the entire game and seemed to put the game away early in
the fourth quarter. Holding a 77-71 margin with 8:25 to play, Boston went on a
9-1 run. Johnson and Wilcox capped the surge with back-to-back alley-oop slams
to make it an 86-72 game with 5:08 remaining.
Chicago had one last run in them, though, responding with a 14-3 burst to make
things interesting. Watson and Boozer combined to score the Bulls' first 13
points of the run, which Luol Deng capped with a free throw to make it 89-86
with 1:43 to go.
Paul Pierce swung the momentum back in Boston's favor. After coming off a nice
screen by Garnett, Pierce drained a 15-foot jumper to give the home team a
five-point lead.
Not much time came off the clock at the other end after Rondo got tangled up
with Deng under the basket. Rondo was called for the foul away from the ball,
leading to a pair of Deng free throws with 1:23 remaining.
The Bulls had a chance to tie the game or go in front after Pierce turned the
ball over. Watson missed a contested layup to spoil the opportunity.
But Pierce committed another turnover on Boston's next trip down the court.
Boozer recorded the steal and called timeout with 27.6 seconds to play.
This time around, Watson threw up a 23-foot fadeaway jumper that was also
contested. Rondo grabbed the defensive rebound and went 4-of-4 from the foul
line down the stretch to seal the win.
The Celtics opened the game on an 18-7 run, but the Bulls responded with 10
straight points to keep it close early. Boston held a 28-23 edge after 12
minutes.
Chicago got as close as one early in the second frame, but Avery Bradley made
consecutive jumpers for Boston. The visitors kept it close for the rest of the
period and trailed 48-43 at the half.
The Celtics went 8-of-10 from the foul line in the third quarter and took a
72-66 lead into the final stanza.
Game Notes
Chicago had won three straight over Boston, including an 88-79 triumph in
Beantown back on January 13...Pierce had nine points...Celtics forward Brandon
Bass will miss at least 10 days of action due to a knee injury. Bass, who
could miss up to two weeks, is averaging 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds in 25
games (five starts) this season. Boston was also without center Jermaine
O'Neal (shoulder) on Sunday, but got guard Keyon Dooling back. Dooling had
been out since January 26 due to a hip injury.
The Sports Network