Celtics Bull-dozed at end

Any kind of loss would have hurt. But the Celtics could not have scripted one more painfully disappointing than what transpired yesterday at TD Banknorth Garden.

There was something about the amateurish collapse by Boston in the closing minutes that felt like a punch in the gut, and looked like it on the players' faces. The Celtics' spectacular failure in a sold-out arena with so much at stake shook the team to its core, making pronouncements of progress over the last month seem exaggerated at best.

Boston acted like the inexperienced team it was in November, December, and January, and had the end result to show for it.

After surviving a number of runs by the feisty Bulls, the Celtics squandered a 12-point fourth-quarter lead and dropped a 101-97 decision in a game with major playoff implications. Tenth-place Boston remained four games behind eighth-place Philadelphia in the push for the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference, but lost crucial ground to hard-charging, ninth-place Chicago.

One of the reasons yesterday's loss hurt so much was because it forced the Celtics to face the reality of their situation. They may not be mathematically eliminated, but nothing they did against the Bulls or in 70 previous contests makes their odds of reaching the postseason any good.

In a postgame speech pulled from the late-fall/early-winter catalog, coach Doc Rivers said, ''[To win] we're going to just have to keep working, staying together and growing as a team. We had an execution problem down the stretch where there was a clear way to run something and a guy decides to [do something different]. That's just team learning. You can't do that. You can't have individual thinking."

The players did not know exactly what they were thinking, if anything, when the game began to unravel early in the fourth. Even after the game, the Celtics (29-42) did not know what to say about how the Bulls (31-39) outplayed them in the final period and outscored them, 33-19.

After a heave from midcourt by Paul Pierce capped an 8-0 run and gave the Celtics a 78-68 lead at the third-quarter buzzer, they took a 12-point edge on another jumper by the captain. But shortly after posting their largest lead of the game, the Celtics' disposition changed. In Rivers's words, Boston became ''timid." The change was precipitated by a 14-4 run that allowed Chicago to close within 2 (84-82) with 7 minutes 30 seconds left and further encouraged by the shot-blocking of Tyson Chandler (10 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocks). The Bulls took the lead for the first time, 93-91, on a pair of Ben Gordon free throws with 2:14 remaining. Boston blew a chance to tie the game when Tony Allen passed the ball to a fan on the right sideline rather than to one of his teammates. The Celtics' 21st and final turnover of the game allowed the Bulls to stretch their lead to 95-91 with a Gordon layup. The Bulls scored 32 points off the Celtics' turnovers.

But at that point, Boston showed the same feistiness and determination Chicago called upon all game. A pair of jumpers by Wally Szczerbiak tied the game, 95-95, with a minute remaining. Gordon came up short on the other end, as did Pierce when it was the Celtics' turn. Ryan Gomes failed to control the awkward offensive rebound and the ball went back to Chicago. Gordon didn't squander a second opportunity to push the Bulls ahead, hitting a 19-footer with 23.2 seconds remaining.

The Celtics predictably trusted Pierce to make a tying shot, but he ran into Chandler while attempting a layup. For the second time down the stretch, Chandler recorded a big block on Pierce. The quick-thinking captain sent Gordon to the line, but that was not a winning strategy. The Bulls easily converted their four final free throws (two from Gordon, two from Kirk Hinrich), erasing any comeback hopes the Celtics might have had after Delonte West hit a 15-footer with 5.6 seconds remaining.

''We were in control for most of the game, and again, it's the little things that are killing us," said Pierce (24 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists). ''Our communication, our not being on the same page down the stretch . . . those are things that can cost you games, and it did tonight.

''I can't put my finger on [why it happens]. The guys really played hard. We played tough defense and they hit some tough shots. You've got to give [the Bulls] some credit. They defended us well down the stretch."

The Bulls also deserved credit for never allowing the Celtics to build a double-digit lead in the first half despite holding a 9-point advantage on a few occasions.

Boston led by 8 points (40-32) after a dunk by Kendrick Perkins with 7:47 left in the second. Then, Chicago staged a 6-0 run and closed within 2 (40-38) on a pair of free throws from Chris Duhon. With just under 5 minutes left in the first half, a Duhon layup brought the Bulls within 1 point.

That was as close as the visitors would come until the fourth quarter.