The moderate contributions from the Big Four were not enough for the Boston Celtics, who rallied back from an early deficit to take the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Chicago Bulls finished the job and captured a 89-90 win on Thursday night in Chicago, IL.
Kevin Garnett led the C's with a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Rajon Rondo approached another triple-double with 17 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. Paul Pierce scored 14 and Ray Allen added 12 points while Chris Wilcox added nine points off the bench for Boston, which only made 31-of-78 field goals to shoot just under 40 percent.
Carlos Boozer had another sound game against the C's, finishing with 23 points and 15 rebounds. Luol Deng had 23 points and 10 assists, Joakim Noah notched 15 points and 16 boards and C.J. Watson, who started in place of an injured Derrick Rose, finished with 11 points. Chicago made 30-of-76 shots (39.5 percent) in the win.
Boston returns the the floor on Sunday night when they face the Detroit Pistons.
For more Celtics and Bulls coverage, visit our blogs CelticsBlog and Blog A Bull.