Pau Gasol leads Bulls over plucky Celtics
Chicago Bulls center Pau Gasol's renaissance season hit yet another high on Saturday, as Gasol scored 29 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and recorded five blocks to help the Bulls top the Boston Celtics 109-104.
The Celtics simply had no match for Gasol, who set up shop at the high post. Gasol shot 9-of-16 from the field, scored 10-of-11 free-throw attempts and added a corner 3-pointer for good measure.
Boston did a fantastic job of shutting down the Bulls' weapons outside of Gasol. Derrick Rose shot just 5-of-18, while backup point guard Aaron Brooks connected on just 6-of-15 of his field-goal attempts.
The Bulls made a strong push to close out the Celtics in regulation, but Evan Turner refused to let up. Turned scored 10 of his 29 points in the fourth. Celtics power forward Jared Sullinger scored a putback off a drive from Turner in the dying moments of regulation to send the game into overtime.
In overtime, the Bulls' defense clamped down, holding Boston to just 2-of-9 shooting and just five points scored. Chicago doubled the Celtics' overtime tally to secure the victory.
Rose delivered the finishing blow with a layup late in overtime. The basket gave the Bulls a four-point lead they would not relinquish.
Gasol was one of five Bulls in double-digits. Turner led the Celtics with 29 on 12-of-22 shooting in the loss.