Bulls Lose @ Celtics in OT 110-105

Not only did Thibodeau work the Celtics' bench during the epic 2008 playoff series with the Bulls that featured countless overtimes. But he also took 22 years toiling as an assistant to land the Bulls' job. All that extra effort still added up to a 110-105 Bulls loss, sealed when Glen Davis sank two free throws with 13.4 seconds left after Joakim Noah lost the ball while dribbling upcourt instead of finding a guard in a one-possession game. The Celtics scored 31 points off 20 Bulls turnovers. In overtime, the Bulls had edged ahead 101-100 when Kyle Korver sank a 3-pointer with 3 minutes, 11 seconds left. But Ray Allen, who led Boston with 25 points, answered 15 seconds later with a 3. Derrick Rose tied it at 103-103 with 2:07 left, but Paul Pierce shook free for a layup. After Rose turned it over trying to pass back to Taj Gibson, Rajon Rondo fed Davis, who was fouled and sank one free throw. Rose then committed an offensive foul and Allen dunked along the baseline for a 108-103 lead. The game appeared to turn with just less than four minutes left in regulation when, coming out of a timeout, the Bulls committed yet another turnover as Luol Deng threw an inbounds pass that Korver couldn't corral. But the Bulls wouldn't go away. Deng, 5-for-14 to that point, sandwiched two 3-pointers around a Noah jumper to tie it at 96-96 with 1:18 left. Noah was huge with his fifth straight double-double and a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds. After the teams traded misses, Rondo's pass to Allen was deflected and Keith Bogans outraced Allen in the backcourt to snare it and call a sliding timeout with 23.3 seconds left. The play might have been a backcourt violation anyway. But the Bulls didn't even attempt a shot when Rose lost control of his dribble near the regulation buzzer while working for the last shot. The second quarter proved disastrous for the Bulls. First, the Bulls went over the foul limit in the first 2:50. Then, they missed their first seven shots and committed three turnovers while failing to score for the first 5:56. The Celtics' 14-0 run extended to 22-3 eventually and as bad as the offense was, the defense might have been worse: Boston shot 10 free throws and had five layups or dunks in this stretch. No wonder a disgusted Noah's frustration boiled over and he picked up a technical foul as the teams walked off the floor at halftime. The Bulls' bench play continues to be an issue, though there was a Ronnie Brewer sighting with seven points and active defense.