BOSTON — Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol were too much for the Boston Celtics to handle on Friday night.
The trio scored all 33 of Chicago’s points in the third quarter and combined to lead the Bulls to a 64-point second half and a 119-103 victory even though center Joakim Noah was on the bench nursing an ankle sprain.
Gasol, the rejuvenated big man, scored 14 of his 20 points in the third quarter and Butler, the non-stop forward, had 10 of his 22. Rose, the star point guard, had nine points and six assists in the quarter and 29 points (20 in the second half) and 10 assists in the game.
Rose capped off his night with three straight 3-pointers late as three Bulls scored 48 points in the second half.
Gasol also had 11 rebounds and four assists. Guard Aaron Brooks came off the bench to add 15 points and forward Taj Gibson posted 13 points and eight rebounds as the Bulls ended a two-game losing streak and won for the second time in their last six games.
The in-flux Celtics, losing for the 11th time in their last 14 games, stayed in the game by shooting in the high 50 percent range from the field well into the third quarter. They trailed by two at the end of the quarter, but the Bulls followed Rose and broke the game open in the fourth.
Forward Jared Sullinger led the Celtics with 20 points and eight rebounds, forward Brandon Bass came off the bench with 16 points and guard Evan Turner had 11 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
Noah, on the bench in street clothes, picked up the Bulls’ second technical foul in the third quarter. Earlier, coach Tom Thibodeau was assessed his league-leading sixth ‘T’ of the season.
All this after the Bulls didn’t have a foul called on them in the first quarter.
Chicago trailed by three points at the half.
NOTES: C Joakim Noah was out of the Chicago lineup with a nagging ankle sprain that will require an MRI on Saturday. “It’s better,” he said Friday. “Just going to keep working at it every day and get my MRI. It is what it is. Keep pushing.” … Fs Tayshaun Prince and Shavlik Randolph, acquired in the Celtics’ latest deals, will join the team in Los Angeles on Saturday before the team opens a six-game road trip against the Clippers on Monday. Randolph begins his second stay with the team, having played 16 games for Doc Rivers in 2012-13. Boston coach Brad Stevens remembers Randolph from Duke, where Randolph once had a career-high 24 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in just 19 minutes against Stevens and Butler. … The Bulls are home to play the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night. … Celtics G Phil Pressey made a pregame announcement in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday. … Celtics rookie swingman James Young was out because of an illness.
Pistons 98, Pacers 96
INDIANAPOLIS — Center Andre Drummond’s tip-in of a missed Brandon Jennings shot with 0.3 seconds remaining lifted the Detroit Pistons to a 98-96 victory against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Jennings, a guard who scored 37 points, drove to the left side of the basket, missing a runner that Drummond tipped in to win it. Drummond finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
With the game tied at 96, Pacers center Roy Hibbert was called for an offensive foul with 23.9 seconds remaining, giving suddenly hot Detroit (15-25) a chance to win it. The Pistons have won 10 of their past 12.
Hibbert led Indiana (15-26) with 14 points, and forwards David West and Damjan Rudez each added 13. The Pacers now have lost three in a row and are in last place in the Eastern Conference Central Division.
Jennings scored 19 third-quarter points to push the Pistons into a 79-76 lead with 12 minutes remaining. Detroit outscored Indiana 30-25 during third-quarter action, although the Pacers began the second half with a burst.
Indiana opened the third quarter with an 11-2 run, capped by forward Solomon Hill’s 3-pointer, for a 62-51 lead. But Jennings fueled a 17-6 Pistons run to tie it at 68 with 5:06 remaining in the period. At that point, Jennings was 7 of 8 from 3-point range and had 26 points.
The Pacers made 14 of 25 second-quarter field-goal attempts (56 percent) to grab a 51-49 halftime lead after trailing by as many as nine during the opening period.
Rudez came off the bench to spark Indiana during the opening 24 minutes with 10 points, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.
The Pacers’ non-starters contributed 33 first-half points compared to 10 from Detroit’s bench. Jennings led all scorers through two periods with 14, including 4 of 4 from beyond the arc. Drummond had a double-double by halftime with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Detroit outrebounded Indiana 29-24 during first-half action, but the Pistons were guilty of 10 turnovers, four more than Detroit.