C's Put On Defensive Act, Give Bulls The Hook: 71-69

 

Jason Terry gets the defensive stop to seal the win? How's THAT for role reversal?

Down 2 with less than 6 seconds left, Marco Belinelli snagged his teammate's errant free-throw and attempted to once again crush the spirits of Celtics Nation by making a last second game-winner. It was then that Terry, giving it his best Avery Bradley, stepped up and swatted Marco's shot, closing the door on any repeat celebration by the men in the Valentine's Day-colored jerseys. Defensive stopper Bradley, meanwhile, put up 10 points.

Helping to break the Bulls' hopeful hearts was Brandon Bass, who shed this year's image as the team's underachiever and played leading man as the game's high scorer with 14 points while adding 9 rebounds 2 assists and a block to this lowdown, dirty game.

Getting into the act was Captain Paul Pierce, who all but slipped on a spare #20 jersey as he paid homage to former Celtic Ray Allen, shooting 2-12 for the game, only to stick it to the Bulls down the stretch with a timely shot from Threeland to go along with 8 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal.

Having none of this experimental theater, master thespian Kevin Garnett stayed in character with 12 points on 6-12 shooting (which included a key basket with 19 seconds to go), 11 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. And, despite his defensive turn, Terry also added 12 points, proving his versatility and ability to master two roles simultaneously.  

With this win, the Celtics evened the season series between the two ballclubs and enter the All-Star Break four games over .500 with a 28-24 record and the 7th spot in the Eastern Conference Playoff picture.

The C's will try and pick up where they left off with a rematch against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday, February 19th at 9:00 p.m.

Tale Of The Tape

Box Score