The Chicago Bulls prevailed 128-127 in triple overtime on Thursday to tie the NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference first round series at three games and send it back to Boston for the finale seventh game on Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET. The winner will advance to play Orlando.
NBA Playoffs oddsmakers at online sportsbook SBGglobal.com list the Celtics as 6-chalk favorites with a 196 total. Boston is a -280 moneyline favorite while Bulls backers are getting +240 moneyline odds.
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Now, the Celtics are trying to avoid elimination after watching an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter disappear and wasting a 51-point effort by Ray Allen that ranks among the greatest postseason displays in the storied franchise's history.
The Bulls, meanwhile, have a chance to become the first seventh seed to knock off the second seed since New York beat Miami in 1998.
"Coming into this series, I don't think anyone imagined it to turn out like this," Chicago's Kirk Hinrich said. "We thought we could be competitive, but for the games to be such crazy, back-and-forth action, it's really incredible.''
So what's next? Quadruple overtime? Kevin Garnett returning a la Willis Reed or, better for the Celtics, delivering 20 points and 10 rebounds? That apparently won't happen, the Boston Globe reported Friday on its Web site. In a text message, Celtics president Danny Ainge told the paper that Garnett is out for the playoffs with his knee injury.
The Bulls took the opener in Boston 105-103 in overtime because of Rose's 36 points and 11 assists, after Pierce missed the potential winning free throw at the end of regulation and had a potential tying basket blocked with 3.7 seconds left in overtime.
In Game 2, Allen won a shootout with fellow former UConn star Ben Gordon and the Celtics prevailed 118-115 in regulation. True, Gordon outscored him 42-30, but Allen hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer at the end of regulation.
While Game 3 in Chicago was a 107-86 romp for Boston, the thrills were far from over.
Game 4 was a particularly wild one, with the Bulls winning 121-118 in double overtime. Allen hit the tying 3 late in regulation and Gordon did the same in the first overtime, burying one with 4.5 seconds remaining. And in the second OT, Salmons blocked Pierce's potential tying 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining.
But in Game 5 in Boston, the Bulls let an 11-point fourth-quarter lead dissolve into a 106-104 overtime loss because of some big shots by Pierce down the stretch.
