Planning a defense

Celtics want to be stingy from start

WALTHAM - The hangover from the Celtics' banner-raising celebration lasted about 1 hour 5 minutes - the length it took for the first half to be completed. Then the Celtics made a statement, confirming their identity as a defense-first team in their 90-85 victory over the Cavaliers Tuesday night.

Now, the Celtics' plan is to get into the defending mode from the start against the Chicago Bulls tonight.

"The first half, we were awful, they should have had 70 points," coach Doc Rivers said after practice yesterday. "We weren't awful; we just didn't guard the ball at all in the first half. In the second half we did. I don't know what it says for the season, but we are a defensive team."

The Celtics limited the Cavaliers to 35 second-half points.

"We finally got back to Celtic basketball, regardless of our offense," said Paul Pierce, who had a game-high 27 points in the opener. "At halftime, we said 50 points was too much for us to give up as a team. So, hopefully we can continue to play the type of defense we played in the second half and carry it over against the Bulls.

"We gave up too many layups and uncontested shots. They got a lot of loose balls. Hopefully, we don't turn the ball over as much. But it's going to be a process for us, finding a way to get better and finding the consistency like we did by the end of [last] year."

Momentum shifted in the third quarter, the Celtics outscoring the Cavaliers, 24-13. The Celtics committed only four personal fouls and grabbed all 10 defensive rebounds in the quarter.

"We didn't make any adjustments," Rivers said. "People would be amazed at how little adjustments, both defensively and offensively, we make at halftime. We correct what we should be doing. It's, 'Guys, this is what we're not doing.' Obviously, there are times when we make a change, but it's rare. After the first half, we said, 'We've got to guard the ball.' Once we did that, the game changed."

Last season, the Celtics had the NBA's best points-against average until the final days of the season; they finished second to Detroit. The Celtics were not among the league leaders in blocked shots or steals, but were first in defensive field goal percentage (.419), ahead of Houston (.433).

"As the game evolved, we adapted to what they were doing to us," Ray Allen said. "We pushed them further away from basket. Early, we had allowed them to pick and choose their ways. We fouled them a lot early in the first half, so we stopped the fouling and put pressure on their offense to score on us."

The Celtics' inside play was effective, even without a blocked shot. And, after Kendrick Perkins fouled out with 3:33 to play, the Celtics gave up only two field goals - a LeBron James dunk and a Mo Williams 3-pointer.

"Perk took a charge, so you figure he's a shot blocker and instead of a blocked shot he takes a charge," Allen said. "And he ended up fouling out. If the guards aren't doing the job, if we are allowing more penetration, that puts more pressure on the bigs. For the most part, early in third and fourth quarters we kept the guards in front of us."

The defensive focus against Chicago will be point guard Derrick Rose, who had 11 points and nine assists in a 108-95 win over Milwaukee in the Bulls' opener Wednesday night.

"For a rookie guard, it's how hard he plays, and he plays for the wins," Rivers said. "A lot of young guys come in and play for the show. They want to show what they can do. He's got a style of his own. He made a beautiful play the other night and he had no reaction, just got back on defense. He's a tough kid."

Frank Dell'Apa can be reached at f_dellapa@globe.com.