Bulls level Celtics in Epic Triple Header
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Third overtime sends series to climatic seventh game.
The fickle gods of overtime smiled sweetly on the Chicago Bulls last night as a triple header saw the Bulls beat the Celtics in a thrilling 128-127 match.
What a difference a week can make. Last Friday the Bulls seemed to be on the ropes as they were out played and out classed by the superior Celtics in a 107-86 romp. The Bulls were staring down the wrong end of a barrel which saw them 2-1 down in the best of seven series and could have been dumped out of the playoffs altogether had it not been for their last gasp win yesterday.
To their credit, the Bulls have got spirit, raking themselves back into the series which hit a high in the sixth game. A record four games in this series have already been decided by overtime which just goes to show how evenly matched these two sides now are, as they have it all to play for in the deciding seventh game.
Celtics’ Ray Allen nearly ruined things for the Bulls with a stunning piece of consistency last night. Allen scored 51 points including nine 3-pointers. The pick of the bunch was a crucial basket hit in the second overtime to tie the scores at 118-all which produced the third overtime of the game.
“So far, it’s probably one of the best series of basketball that I’ve ever been a part of,” commented veteran Allen to USA Today. It has certainly been a thrilling encounter for the neutral, but Boston’s coach Doc Rivers was frustrated that his team allowed a game which looked sewn up slip away.
“We stopped playing. We had a chance to close it out. We saw that score and we just stopped playing,” exclaimed Mr Rivers as the Celtics threw away an eight point lead deep into the fourth quarter of regulation time. The series has been an absolute epic, NBA fans can only hope that whichever team proceeds in the competition can produce the same intensity of basketball against Orlando’s Magic in the second round.
