Tie game, 3.4 seconds left in overtime, the Garden sounding very much like a subway station at peak hours — gee, wonder who’s going to attempt the shot for the Bulls?
Brad Miller?
Well, no, that’s not the man who would come immediately to mind.
But that’s what happens when your top scorer is being hounded on the inbound pass. It says something about Ben Gordon’s heart and body that the Celtics were all over him despite his strained hamstring.
And it says something about the brutal nature of this series that Miller got hammered on his drive to the hoop and seemed completely dazed at the free-throw line with two seconds left. That might have had something to do with his two missed free throws.
And it might have had something to do with the Celtics’ 106-104 victory.
But — and I have this on pretty good authority — the Bulls aren’t going away.
More Top Picks Underwater Camera
I know this because Gordon went from hoping for a “miracle” Tuesday afternoon for his strained left hamstring to playing 51 minutes and scoring 26 points Tuesday night. The man has ice in his veins and a heating pad on his hamstring.
Oh, I know what the scoreboard said. And I know the Celtics lead this best-of-seven playoff series 3-2. But I also know the series returns to Chicago on Thursday and that what the Bulls might lack in talent, they make up for in grit. This isn’t youthful ignorance at work. The Bulls know exactly where they are and what they’re up against.
And they don’t care.
Gordon had said earlier in the day that he would need some divine intervention to help heal his injured leg, and who knows, maybe there was a pregame laying-on of hands in the Bulls’ locker room. Or maybe the spirit of Michael Jordan’s famous flu game infused him with extra willpower. Or maybe the hammy wasn’t all that bad. Whatever the case, Gordon came out and played Tuesday night.
“If he’s on the floor, he’s 100 percent, as far as we’re concerned,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said before the game. “No one cares about the injuries, not if he’s on the floor. I’ve seen some pretty good games by injured players in my time. We expect to get his best if he plays.”
You could feel the legend-making machine getting fired up, but Gordon was playing on two legs, not one. The Celtics didn’t get his best Tuesday night, but they got something close enough.
It was Gordon, sore hamstring and all, whom the Bulls called on to take the last shot in regulation. He missed. It was Gordon who was fouled by the Celts’ Tony Allen on a three-point attempt in overtime, and it was Gordon who hit all three free throws to tie the game at 104.
But the Bulls didn’t know how to deal with Paul Pierce, who struggled early and then hit his last five shots to lead Boston to victory.
He made back-to-back jumpers late in the first overtime to give the Celtics a 104-101 lead. And then he followed Gordon’s three free throws with a jumper over John Salmons with 3.4 seconds left.
Oh, and he had hit a 15-foot jumper over Derrick Rose with 10.5 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 93.
Gordon is not going to get better in time for Game 6 at the United Center. Strained hamstrings don’t work that way. But he proved to himself that he could deal with the pain and still get his shots. The goal Thursday will be to make more of them. He was 6 of 21 from the floor.
“He was terrific,” Rivers said. “He made some unbelievable shots. And we’ll [let him] take those shots.”
The added lift the Bulls were hoping for came from Kirk Hinrich, whom coach Vinny Del Negro, for some reason, refers to as “Kurt.” Hinrich already has made a name for himself, but he played his best game in a long, long time Tuesday night. He had 19 points. Too bad he stopped shooting in the fourth quarter.
Boston’s Rajon Rondo had 28 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. Too bad he kept playing.
Aesthetically, this game was not what you’d call pretty. In fact, there are warthogs that look better than this game. It was a brawl. Tuesday’s overtime loss followed Sunday’s double-overtime victory. Expect more of the same Thursday night.
The Bulls are right there with the Celtics. Right there. How close were the Bulls to winning this game? Miller and Ray Allen were called for double fouls with 5:27 left in regulation — and Allen fouled out. Think the Bulls liked that trade-off? But they couldn’t take full advantage of it.
Maybe what we’re seeing is simply what champions do. Boston is without its best player, Kevin Garnett, but the Bulls were without the full services of their top scorer.
The Bulls eventually are going to go away sometime in these playoffs.
Just not right away.
And maybe not in this series.
————
More inside
More Top Picks Best Solar Watches For Men
If drama isn’t your thing, don’t watch this playoff series. PAGE 3