Bulls cool off Celtics

Bulls cool off Celtics

The Celtics walked directly into the teeth of a wounded animal Saturday night and promptly got eaten alive.

Derrick Rose scored 36 points and Carlos Boozer finished with a double-double as the Chicago Bulls avoided a third consecutive loss with a 90-79 win over Boston at the United Center.

Coming off back-to-back losses to the woeful Nets and 76ers, Chicago (24-12) took out its frustration on the Celtics, who lost for the first time in five games and dropped to 5-2 without Kevin Garnett in the lineup.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

The two teams went back-and-forth until the Bulls began to pull away at the end of the third quarter. A jumper by Boozer capped a 9-1 run that gave Chicago a 73-65 lead and Rose busted it open with consecutive jumpers in the closing minutes of the fourth to send Chicago to its first win over Boston this season.

Paul Pierce led Boston (28-8) with 21 points and Ray Allen finished with 19, but the Celtics shot just 38 percent from the field. Pierce finished 7-of-16 from the floor while Allen shot 7-of-13.
Glen Davis shot 4-of-17 and scored 11 points.

Boozer added 22 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago. The Celtics will look to get back on track Monday at home against Houston.