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Noah guides Bulls past Celtics

Chicago,  IL  (SportsNetwork.com) - Joakim Noah  scored 10 of his 19 points in 
the  fourth quarter as  the Chicago Bulls pulled away late for a 94-80 victory 
over the Boston Celtics at United Center. 

Up by one entering the final frame, the Bulls outscored the Celtics by a 23-10 
margin  the  rest of the  way to complete a  home-and-home sweep of the clubs. 
Chicago posted a 107-102 win in Boston on Sunday. 

The Bulls also received a game-high 22 points from Mike Dunleavy and 18 out of 
Jimmy  Butler in the  triumph, which moved Chicago into a tie with Toronto for 
third  place in  the Eastern Conference. Noah added 11 rebounds and Taj Gibson 
notched a double-double as well, finishing with 14 points and 11 boards. 

"I  think we're  playing  pretty good  basketball,  but I  think  we can  play 
better," Noah said. 

Jerryd  Bayless,  starting in place  of Rajon Rondo,  tallied 18 points in the 
Celtics'  10th  consecutive road loss.  Brandon Bass also  had 18 points to go 
along with nine rebounds. 

"We  looked heavy-legged  the  whole  second half,"  Celtics  head coach  Brad 
Stevens said. "That's no excuse because they played last night, too." 

Rondo was held out to rest his surgically repaired knee with Boston playing on 
back-to-back nights. 

Despite  the absence of their star point guard, the Celtics owned a 63-60 lead 
with  4  1/2 minutes left in  the third quarter. However, a Dunleavy 3-pointer 
ignited a 9-0 Chicago run and the Bulls never trailed thereafter. 

The  game  was still  tight entering  the fourth  quarter, however, after Phil 
Pressey's  three to  end the third brought Boston within 71-70. The Bulls then 
proceeded  to embark on  a 17-2 spurt over the next 5 1/2 minutes that all but 
sealed the outcome. 

Noah put up six points during the pivotal sequence, which Butler capped with a 
long 2-pointer that put Chicago up by a comfortable 88-72 count. 

Boston  whittled an early  eight-point deficit down to 25-24 at the end of one 
quarter,  then scored the first eight points of the second to forge ahead. The 
Celtics  owned  a 46-37 lead after  Bass' dunk off  a Pressey steal with 4 1/2 
minutes left in the half. 

Chicago  then  reversed the momentum behind  an 11-2 run in which Dunleavy had 
five  points,  but went into  the break down 50-48  after Bayless hit two foul 
shots with 1.3 second left in the second quarter. 

                                   Game Notes 

Boston guard Avery Bradley did not play in the second half after aggravating a 
previous  ankle injury ... The Bulls completed their first season sweep of the 
Celtics  since the 2006-07 campaign ... D.J. Augustin, who deposited a career- 
best  33 points in  Sunday's victory, had just four for Chicago but dished out 
11  assists ...  The Bulls went just  3-of-16 from 3-point range but scored 48 
points in the paint compared to Boston's 30. 

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