Rally leaves Celtics bullish

CHICAGO -- The Celtics credited Kendrick Perkins with securing last night's win over the Chicago Bulls, even though he watched the decisive fourth quarter from the locker room.

But what happened before the referees ejected Perkins late in the third quarter reminded Boston about the kind of toughness it takes to win games in the NBA. Inspired by Perkins, the Celtics rallied from a 13-point deficit to earn a 101-97 victory.

The Bulls pushed around the Celtics until coach Doc Rivers turned to his bench and Perkins took a stand. Perkins wanted to inject some toughness into his teammates, but after two physical encounters, one with Eddy Curry and one with Tyson Chandler, the second-year big man was tossed after picking up a flagrant foul and two technicals.

"I just go out there and play hard," said Perkins. "It wasn't my intention to go out there and hurt anybody. We're just playing basketball. When I try to come off the bench, I try to give us a little energy. I feel like we didn't get any calls all game, but it's still all good."

The first technical came after Perkins and Curry became entangled under the basket and tempers flared before teammates intervened. When Chandler went in for a dunk and Perkins went for the ball, the referees handed the Celtic a flagrant foul. Apparently the second technical resulted from a few choice words Perkins shouted at the official. His teammates, however, got the message.

"We owe this game to Kendrick Perkins," said Paul Pierce (18 points, 15 rebounds). "He really put some spark in us when we were down. Emotionally, it gave us an edge."

After Chandler made one of two free throws to push the Bulls ahead, 72-59, the Celtics started a 21-7 run with a 3-pointer from Pierce. The spurt ended with a fast-break layup from Pierce that gave Boston an 80-79 advantage with 8:05 left in the game. It remained close down the stretch.

"[The ejection] got a lot of people hyper," said Gary Payton (23 points). "We need stuff like that, when people get ejected and people get technical fouls. It gets our energy up. It turned into momentum. As soon as that happened, I think everything went our way. We started making shots and making them take tough shots."

After the Celtics tied the game for the eighth and final time, Payton gave them a 100-97 lead when he hit a 3-pointer with 1:41 remaining. But the Celtics could not capitalize on a pair of missed shots by Luol Deng and extend their lead. In the end, however, it didn't matter as Chris Duhon went to the line with 7.5 seconds remaining but missed both shots, clearing the way for a Boston victory.

Rivers cautioned that the Bulls bring energy to every possession. During the first half, the Celtics successfully matched that energy. But playing the second of back-to-back games after an exhausting loss to Phoenix Friday night, Boston fell behind, 76-68, by the end of the third. Ben Gordon continued to pad his resume for the Sixth Man of the Year Award, exploding for 15 of his career-high-tying 31 points in the third. It was the most points scored by a rookie in the NBA this season.

In recent years, the Celtics have struggled at the United Center. And that was before the Bulls became the hottest team in the NBA and one of the best turnaround stories this season. Since starting 0-9, Chicago is 22-11, including 13-3 in January.

Chicago's impressive defense was on full display in the first quarter as it held Boston to 35 percent shooting, keeping Pierce scoreless. While the long arms of Deng continued to trouble Pierce in the second quarter -- the Celtics' leading scorer failed to record a field goal -- the visitors were more productive on the offensive end as the game progressed. By staging an 8-0 run at the end of the second quarter, Boston briefly took the lead before entering halftime tied, 47-47.

With Pierce struggling and recording more turnovers (four) than points (3) in the first half, it fell to Payton to find the basket and cut into what was, at one time, a 10-point Chicago lead. The veteran point guard hit a 3-pointer that capped a 10-3 spurt and brought Boston within 3 (42-39) with 2:24 left in the half.

After the Bulls built their advantage back to 7, Payton started the 8-0 run with an 11-footer on the break. Payton recorded 15 of his 23 points in the first half. Coming off the bench, Ricky Davis complemented Payton on offense, finishing the first half with 11 of his 24 points.

But Boston would need to tighten up its defense in the second half to go ahead. After all, it was defense, or a lack thereof, that sealed the Celtics' fate the last time they visited the United Center.

"This may be the best game we've closed out so far," said Davis. "We got the stops when we needed it. [The Bulls] have been playing good. We knew they were capable of winning and we just came out playing hard."