Rajon Rondo has 13 points and five assists as the Boston Celtics trail the Chicago Bulls, 55-48, at the half on Tuesday night from United Center in Chicago, IL.
After suffering back-to-back beat downs in Texas, the Celtics had a road weary Bulls team to look forward to on the second night of a back-to-back.
Boston was in for a surprise, though, allowing Chicago to score 18 points in the paint and Luol Deng to notch 14 points all in the first quarter as the Bulls ran up and down the court on the veteran Celtics.
The trend would continue into the second as the Celtics struggled to find their footing, allowing the Bulls to score 27 in the second as Chicago extended their lead.
Joakim Noah assisted on Chicago's first four makes as the Bulls worked the ball around Boston's sluggish defense. The Celtics remain slow on rotations and small on the boards, especially when Kevin Garnett is off the floor. The Bulls held an 8-2 free throw advantage after one, as Chicago led 28-23.
The second quarter was much of the same, as former-Boston defensive mastermind Tom Thibodeau used his stiffing sets to force Celtics misses on three of their first four shots, including consecutive steals as the Bulls pushed their lead. Brandon Bass began to find his rhythm after starting 0-5 on the night, to score five points and grab six boards to keep the Celtics close.
Noah is flirting with a triple-double at the half, scoring seven points, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out five assists for the Bulls. Garnett had 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half for the Celtics.
Chicago shot 53 percent from the field, while Boston connected on 41 percent of their attempts.
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