Celtics Schedule 2012: Boston Kicks Off 5-Game Road Stand Thursday In Chicago

It's a light week for the Boston Celtics, as they gear up for a five-game road stand beginning Thursday when they head to Chicago. The Bulls may still be without Derrick Rose as he deals with back spasms. His absence would be a tremendous help to the C's, who scraped out a 4-point win over Chicago at home Sunday night.

The Detroit Pistons come to Boston on Wednesday on somewhat of an uptick, having won four out of five prior to Tuesday's game against the San Antonio Spurs. Center Greg Monroe is averaging nearly a double-double per game in the month of January with 15.8 points and 9.9 rebounds. He is 10th in the NBA with a 24.29 PER on the season.

Here's the complete Celtics weekday schedule with TV/Radio information:

Wednesday, 2/15: Celtics vs. Pistons (7:30 p.m. ET, TV/Radio: CSNHD)

Thursday, 2/16: Celtics @ Bulls (8:00 p.m. ET, TV/Radio: TNT)

To see the full Celtics 2011-2012 schedule, click here. For more Celtics coverage, visit CelticsBlog

JaJuan Johnson Making Strides For Celtics, But Still Inconsistent

JaJuan Johnson has come a long way for the Boston Celtics in a short amount of time. Johnson's quick progress has been a result of an increased comfort level and opportunities due to injury, but the rookie forward has still been inconsistent.

Celtics Vs. Bulls: Garnett Calls Sunday's Win 'Huge'

Coming off consecutive losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and the cellar-dwelling Toronto Raptors, the Boston Celtics needed a shot of confidence. Even if the Chicago Bulls were without Derrick Rose, it is safe to say they got the kickstart they needed. Rajon Rondo recorded a triple-double in the 95-91 win to quiet the critics. Perhaps more importantly, the C's got their edge back according to Kevin Garnett.

"We needed a win," Garnett said. "Today was a huge game for us. Dealing with everything that happened in Toronto, yeah today was a needed win. Nothing else said. It was. And I thought we played like it.

"I thought we played with an edge," he continued. "We played like the old Celtics that I know we are. Doc [Rivers] came in and gave us a good talking to, something we needed to hear."

Garnett led all players on the floor, going plus-16 for the game. He had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in 29 minutes of play. The Celtics will host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday before going to Chicago on Thursday.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Celtics Vs. Bulls: Paul Pierce Makes Different Impact In Sunday's Win

BOSTON - Paul Pierce didn't have a very Paul Pierce-like game on Sunday afternoon. The captain of the Boston Celtics finished with only nine points on four of ten shooting, which is far off his season average of 18.1 points.

But that doesn't mean he didn't have an impact. Pierce played solid defense and was tied for a game-high with four steals, and he also made a few clutch baskets down the stretch, as he continued to display that he can contribute in other ways in the Celtics' 95-91 win over the Bulls at TD Garden.

Pierce's biggest impact came on the defensive end, where he virtually shut down Luol Deng (10 points, five rebounds in 42:43), who is making his first All-Star appearance this year. In the last meeting with the Celtics, Deng dominated Pierce and company, putting up 21 points while grabbing 16 rebounds in a Bulls win at TD Garden.

"You've really got to focus in on him," Pierce said. "He's an All-Star this year, and you know with Derrick Rose being out, I really just wanted to make a conscious effort of just slowing him down, doing what I can to keep a body on him, keeping him off the offensive rebounds. Just for the most part, you have to slow him down with the lineup they have out there, you give yourself a great chance of winning tonight."

Rajon Rondo carried the team with his play, finishing with another triple-double -- 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds. Pierce is usually the man looked upon to carry the scoring load, but Rondo proved he can handle it sometimes, too.

"When he's assertive, aggressive, the way he plays, the way he played tonight, we're a tough team to stop," said Pierce. "When he's out in transition, pushing the ball, taking the shots right there, the mid-range, rebounding, just he's all energy. He's one of those guys when he plays with a lot of energy, he's so touch because he can rebound the ball well, when he pushes off the break he's tough to stop in transition. He just did it all tonight. He was great to watch."

The majority of Pierce's points didn't come until the second half, when he had five points on 2-of-6 shooting. Alas, the Celtics were still able to get off to a strong start and take an 11-point lead over the team with the best record in the NBA.

"It was important to get off to a good start - move the ball and get into a rhythm defensively, get the home crowd kind of involved - especially for these early games; sometimes they're hard to get into. We're so used to playing the seven or eight o'clock games. So it's always important; usually when we get of to a great start it's really good news for us."

Pierce and the Celtics return to action on Wednesday night when they host the Pistons.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Celtics 95, Bulls 91: Rajon Rondo Leads C's Past Rose-Less Chicago

BOSTON - Derrick Rose wasn't in uniform Sunday, and that was enough to allow the Boston Celtics to hang on for a narrow victory against the recently surging Chicago Bulls, 95-91, at TD Garden in Boston, MA.

Rose's production was sorely missed on both ends of the court. C.J. Watson, who started in place of Rose, filled in admirably, but he didn't have the same type of impact that Rose, the league's reigning MVP, would have had.

Rajon Rondo took advantage of that fact, and he lit up the Bulls on the offensive end. Rondo finished with a triple-double, amassing 32 points on 11-of-22 shooting to go along with 15 assists and 10 rebounds to lead Boston, which shot 49 percent from the field.

"Rondo's a great player," said Tom Thibodeau, head coach of the Bulls and former Celtics assistant. "Even if you are defending him well, he still has the ability to make great plays and that team is very experienced and I think they're playing at a very high level."

Kevin Garnett continued his streak of impactful games, netting 13 points and 12 rebounds. Paul Pierce, the Celtics' leading scorer on the season, was held to nine points on the afternoon. Ray Allen added three points in the win for Boston. JaJuan Johnson provided the C's with a nice boost off the bench, totaling 12 points and four rebounds.

Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah provided the offense for Chicago, which was held to 38.6 percent shooting. Boozer finished with 22 points and seven rebounds while Noah, usually a pest for the Celtics, had 16 points and nine boards. Watson totaled 22 points and seven rebounds, but didn't have an assist in the defeat.

Rondo led an early surge for the Celtics, scoring 16 points in the first half to put his team up by five, 48-43, at the break. Boston built it's lead up to 11 points midway through the first quarter, 18-7, but Chicago closed the gap and trailed by five points, 28-23, through 12 minutes. Both teams scored 20 points in the second, giving the C's their five-point edge.

"I knew they would come out like that, coming off their last two games," Thibodeau said. "They were very aggressive. I thought they got some easy baskets early, which gave them confidence."

The dominant performance continued in the third for Rondo, who brought his scoring total up to 28 points. Chicago wouldn't go away, though, putting up 23 points in the quarter to effectively counter the Celtics' 24 in the period.

After a stretch of 2:19 without a point early in the fourth, the Celtics mixed up the lineup and got a spark from Allen, who hit two timely baskets to give Boston a 77-68 lead with eight and a half minutes remaining. Johnson's putback and a three from Pierce gave the Celtics another 11-point lead with just under eight minutes to play. Rondo put the cap on his triple-double in the closing minutes and led Boston to a win with four clutch free throws late.

"When you have Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin and Rondo running the team, you know, and their bench I think is playing very well and they are getting contributions from a number of different people so they're going to be a dangerous team," said Thibodeau.

The Celtics will have a couple of days to recuperate, as they will not play again until Wednesday night, when they host the lowly Detroit Pistons at TD Garden.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Celtics Vs. Bulls Halftime Score: Boston Clinging To 48-43 Lead

BOSTON - Rajon Rondo's 16 first-half points sparked the Boston Celtics early, as they took control of the game in the early stages against one of the NBA's premier teams without their leader, Derrick Rose. Rondo and the Celtics regressed in the second quarter, though, but still took a 48-43 lead over the Bulls into halftime on Sunday at TD Garden.

Capitalizing on the fact that the Chicago Bulls were missing their best player (and the reigning league MVP), Derrick Rose, the Boston Celtics surged out of the gate and built a comfortable lead over the reigning Eastern Conference runner ups in the first quarter. Alas, like so many other runs for this team, it subsided in the second quarter.

Boston jumped ahead, 14-6, at the 7:21 mark of the opening quarter. Led by Rondo, the Celtics were able to establish a quick tempo in the game's opening minutes. But without Rose, the Bulls looked to other sources on offense. And they found them. Joakim Noah (12 points, six rebounds) and Carlos Boozer (10 points, five rebounds) had strong quarters and halves for Chicago on offense.

The Celtics led 28-23 after one quarter, but the Bulls weren't about to let the game get out of reach. Chicago used an 8-5 run to open the quarter, but the Celtics' reserves - JaJuan Johnson in particular -- did enough to keep Boston in the plus for the quarter. Both teams scored 20 points apiece in the second frame.

Kevin Garnett scored seven and both Chris Wilcox, who started in place of an injured Jermaine O'Neal, and rookie JaJuan Johnson finished the half with six points. Paul Pierce had four points in the opening half.

C.J. Watson, who started for Rose, had eight points and John Lucas scored five points off the bench in the half for the Bulls.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Celtics Vs. Bulls: Jermaine O'Neal (Shoulder) Out Against Chicago

BOSTON - The injuries keep piling up for the Boston Celtics, who will be without the services of two key players on Sunday when they face the Chicago Bulls at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday at TD Garden in Boston, MA. Boston will be without center Jermaine O'Neal (shoulder), who is day-to-day, as well as Brandon Bass (knee), who may miss 7-10 days.

The good news, though, is that the team will get guards Keyon Dooling and Avery bradley back. Dooling has been out with a hip pointer while Bradley has been battling a shoulder injury. Even more good news for the Celtics is that Derrick Rose, the star guard for the Bulls and reigning league MVP, will not play on Sunday as he continues to recover from a back injury that caused him to miss the team's last game against the Charlotte Bobcats.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Celtics Vs. Bulls: Brandon Bass Out; Dooling And Bradley Return

BOSTON - Bittersweet news for the Boston Celtics on Sunday morning, as the team will get the services of Keyon Dooling and Avery bradley back. However, the team has lost reserve Brandon Bass for 7-10 days, as he battles a knee injury.

Meanwhile, the Celtics caught a break as Derrick Rose (back spasms) will be out for the Bulls when they take on the Celtics at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden (TV/Radio: ABC/WEEI). Rose missed Chicago's last game against the Charlotte Bobcats, a blowout win, and said he will try to return as soon as possible.

Bass is out for two weeks with a sore knee. Dooling is returning from a hip pointer injury while Bradley played against the Raptors with a shoulder injury despite missing the game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Derrick Rose Injury Update: Bulls Star Won't Play Against Celtics

BOSTON - Derrick Rose, the star point guard for the Chicago Bulls and reigning league MVP, will not play against the Boston Celtics on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden, as nagging back spasms will keep him sidelined in Boston.

Rose sat out of the Bulls last game against the Charlotte Bobcats with the back spasms and is considered day-to-day. Chicago didn't miss him, though, putting up a 95-64 victory against a hapless Bobcats squad with the NBA's worst record.

In 23 games this season, Rose is averaging 22.0 points, 7.8 assists and 3.4 rebounds for Chicago. In the Bulls' first game against the Celtics in Boston, Rose had 25 points and seven assists after sitting out Chicago's previous game. Last year, Rose averaged 26.0 points and 6.8 assists against Boston. Here more from Rose in his pregame interview.

AUDIO: Derrick Rose Pregame Interview (2-12-12)

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

NBA Standings 2012: Boston Celtics Holding Off Streaking Knicks For Seventh Place

The Boston Celtics host the Chicago Bulls in an Eastern Conference showdown at the TD Garden (3:30 p.m. on ABC) on Sunday. The Celtics were winners of nine of ten until losing back-to-back games this week allowing the New York Knicks, winner of four straight, to gain ground in the Eastern Conference standings. Meanwhile, the Bulls (23-6) are the front runners.

Here's a complete look of the Eastern Conference standings enter Sunday's match up with Chicago. For a complete preview of the game, check here.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Bulls Vs. Celtics Game Time, TV Schedule And More

The Boston Celtics will try and snap a two-game skid Sunday afternoon, as they host the Chicago Bulls in an Eastern Conference showdown at the TD Garden (3:30 p.m. on ABC). The Celtics were winners of nine of ten until losing back-to-back games this week, while the Bulls (23-6) are closing out a nine-game, 15-day road trip.

The Bulls could be without their best player and the league's reigning MVP, point guard Derrick Rose, as he sat out their last contest against the Charlotte Bobcats.

On Jan. 13, the Bulls defeated the Celtics, 88-79, in the first of four match ups between these two Eastern Conference rivals.

If you'd like to catch the game, here's the game time, tv schedule, radio stream and more:

Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA
Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET
TV: ABC
Celtics radio: 850 AM WEEI
Announcers: Sean Grande (play-by-play), Cedric Maxwell (color)
Betting line: Chicago enters as 3-point favorites.

For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.

Celtics Vs. Bulls: Boston Takes On Conference Leading Chicago

Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics (14-12) attempt to right the ship against Derrick Rose and the conference leading Chicago Bulls (23-6) at 3:30 p.m. EDT on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden in Boston, MA (TV/Radio: ABC/WEEI).