Celtics lose to the Bulls! Final Score; 97-81

With the victory, the Bulls’ magic number to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference fell to one. The Celtics dropped back into a second-place tie with the idle Heat in the East, although Rondo and Co. do hold the head-to-head tiebreaker.

It was the Derrick Rose show last night, the leading MVP candidate in the NBA, he set the tone offensively and the Bulls big men tightened it up defensively. It was only after half-time when it seemed like the Celtics tried to respond. Two players in particular seemed intent upon turning the page from earlier shakiness. Paul Pierce had been through a foul troubled half in which he made just 2-of-6 shots (six points) and turned the ball over twice. Immediately he took the ball at Keith Bogans and stuck a turnaround jumper. Rondo had gone 0-for-3 from the floor in a scoreless half while opposing point guard Rose had exploded for 16 points. So Rondo began going to the basket hard, scoring on consecutive possessions to give the Celtics a 49-48 lead, their first edge since 8-6. After their early burst, the Celts produced just three more field goals in the remainder of the quarter, a span of 10 minutes, 11 seconds. The Bulls were thus able to take a 71-60 lead into the final period and walk away from there.