Postgame Comments: Boston Celtics 92, Bulls 81 | 12.08.07

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Skiles

Garnett hit some big shots down the stretch, but the team had a tough time containing Rondo:
"When you look at the scores by quarter, all the scores were close but we did not win one. Rondo really hurt us all night—some on busted coverages, but also some lazy defenses."

Was the difference that they knocked down their open shots?
"That has been one of the biggest problems in many of our games. We had some pretty good looks. There were also some times when we were not ready to shoot. The shooting was like an afterthought. We also took it into trouble. Last night we were the more aggressive, focused team and we won. Tonight they were and they won. We could not get it to their level tonight."

Is it tough to defend Garnett when he can turn and shoot like that?
"Yes and we are not a team that can go down and double in the post often. We like to help out and recover. The couple of times we helped he passed out they hit their shots. It makes it easy to play when you have someone like that for sure."

You have to be happy with the defensive job on Pierce:
"I thought we did a good job on Pierce and a good job on Ray Allen, good enough to win. We are playing a team that is 16-2 and we shot 36% and they shot 51%. We cut it to five and had a two possession game and we just needed one stop there and had a couple of timeouts to play with. We maybe could have stolen it from them. When the game is over and you look at those numbers, nine out of ten nights they are going to beat you."

Ben Gordon missed some shots he usually hits:
"You can lose sleep over it but is pretty simple. We have to make shots. You have to step up and make them. In the games we have struggled to make shots, a common denominator has been our ball handling and our passing. We are making it tough on our shooters."

You had a lot of makeable shots, is that attributable to their defense?
"They are statistically and arguably the best defense in the league. You have to attribute some of that to their defense. They do a very good job of basket protection so when you go in there you have to dunk the ball. We went there double pumping and made it easy for them. Overall they were the most aggressive team."

Duhon

On the game:
"It's tough. We had some good opportunities against a talented team but we missed some easy baskets when we had some easy shots. It was one of those days. It was a tough back to back for us because we exerted a lot of energy last night. We fought and battled tonight but we came up short."

On Boston's size causing difficulties:
"They're long. I don't think our spacing was great tonight. And they're so long and athletic that if you don't have good spacing it's tough to get good shots because everything gets bottled up."

On Rondo:
"He's that type of player. Once he sees a couple of shots go in, he starts to think he's going to have a big night."

Deng

"I thought we played hard and did a pretty good job defensively. But, we had a tough time keeping them out of the middle when they were driving the basketball. Offensively we got a lot of good looks but we did not shoot the ball well. That's a good team and they played well."

On if he's worried about his shooting:
"No, I've just got to keep shooting. It's going to happen sometimes. There are going to be nights when they go in and I feel really comfortable."

On Rondo's play:
"Rondo did a good job penetrating. Like I said, we had a tough time keeping them out of the middle of the lane but I did think we played hard."

On if this is the best team they faced this year:
"Yeah, they've got established stars. They also have a lot of really good role players and they play really well together."

Rivers

On the game:
“It was a great game, number one. It was a very competitive one. In the first half, I thought both teams were just sort of feeling each other out. In the second half, they really got out and played. Rajon (Rondo) was great for us all night. Glen Davis was also huge for us on the glass. Ed House had only one three-pointer but I thought it was the biggest shot of the night for us.”

On playing Glen Davis:
“Yes, I went early with him. It was really kind of a gut feel. I wanted to get some energy out there on the court for us. Nocioni was out there giving it to them and I thought Glen Davis would be the one guy who could give us some of that same energy out there. Paul (Pierce) did not have a great offensive game tonight. He did play very well defensively. Guarding Deng is tough and I know it took a lot out of Paul. When one of our big guys is not making shots someone has to step up and do it for us. That's what Rajon did tonight.”

On their halftime adjustments:
“I thought our pick-and-roll in the second half changed the game for us. We don't make a lot of defensive adjustments. What we did do was talk about how defensively we had to take away some of Hinrich and Duhon's airspace. We wanted to force them to drive as I thought our big guys could clog the paint. Tonight we played well. It's especially nice to win on the road.”

Pierce

On the game:
“We knew it was going to be one of those tough games. The Bulls have been playing well as of late and we knew coming in here it was going to be difficult because we haven't beaten them in a while. The Bulls move a lot offensively and they've been one of the better teams in league for the last few years. It was one of those grind it out games but we found a way to get it done.”

On different guys stepping up every game:
“I mean that's huge. Every night it's somebody different stepping up for us. Teams are so concerned about me, Kevin (Garnett) and Ray (Allen) that these guys are getting opportunities and are taking advantage of it. Every night it's somebody different and tonight it was Big Baby and Rondo stepping it up. And that's what we're going to need all year. It's not going to be just about us and these guys have accepted the challenge.”

Is it too much to expect the Big Three to be great every night?
“We bring more to the game than just scoring and other statistics. It's our presence being on the floor. We may not put up great numbers every night but just by us being out there we make the other guys better.”

Allen

On Rajon Rondo's quick start.
“When he's aggressive like that we have better spacing. Normally they're worried about me and Kevin (Garnett) and Paul (Pierce) but when he plays like that he gives us another angle to our offense. He's a smart kid, it's only a matter of time before he adapts and takes advantage of the opportunity defenses are giving him.”

Why have you been so good on the second end of back-to-backs this year?
“We don't look at it any differently, we know we have to prepare to win and come ready to play no matter what happened the night before.”

How neat is it to be a part of this team with two other great players?
“You see a lot of lucky players in sports and guys that are lucky to be on great teams that win championships. There's a lot of hard work involved but sometimes guys are just lucky to be part of a great team too. And in this case with the three of us, it's just the luck of the Irish.”

Is it too much to expect the big three to be clicking every night?
“I don't think so but, we've always got each other's backs. Just as long as we win. A lot of times people will just look at stats and see how many points each of us gets but we do a lot of different things to help win games.”