Rally Fizzles

 January 14, 2012

Ricky Davis is back. Now a Maine Red Claw on the comeback trail in the D-League, the former Celtics tail-gunner took in last night's game in a prime end-zone seat at the Garden.

Exactly how many fans told Davis the Celtics could use him?

"A lot," he said, before adding with dead serious emphasis, "I'm ready."

The Celtics, down 19 points at the time, must have heard that halftime threat.

With a healthy sense of panic, they responded with perhaps their best defensive sequence of the season, cutting that deficit to one with 10 minutes left.

And it still wasn't enough.

The Celts never led in last night's 88-79 loss to Chicago. They fell to 4-6 for the first time in the era of the new Big Three, who are starting to look a little calcified.

Their near-recovery aside, the C's still shot only 41.3 percent from the field for the night and had to listen to the indignity of a Bull getting the heartiest ovation from the crowd.

Brian Scalabrine, another ghost from Celtics past, was welcomed with almost desperate enthusiasm in the last minute.

After watching their lead get cut to a point (67-66) with 10 minutes left, the Bulls found traction just in time and pushed their advantage to 77-69 with a 10-3 run that included seven points from Derrick Rose (game-high 25 points) and three from Joakim Noah.

Rose's up-top 3-pointer was good for an 80-72 lead with 4:58 left, and though Brandon Bass answered with a buzzer-beating slash, the Celtics' returns continued to diminish.

Ronnie Brewer also beat the buzzer with a 20-footer, and defensively, Noah came up with a pair of trophy blocks — the first on Paul Pierceand the second on Kevin Garnett. Rose drove for an 11-point lead (84-73) with 2:03 left, and the Garden started to empty.

After missing his first six shots, Garnett finally connected with 7:41 left in the third quarter, and after a Luol Deng jumper, the Celtics kicked out with a 7-0 run capped by a Pierce 3-pointer that cut their deficit to 61-48. The C's then closed the quarter with a 6-0 spurt, and the catalyst throughout was Rajon Rondo, who had six points, five rebounds and three steals in the frame.

Garnett opened the fourth quarter with a turnaround jumper, followed by a tough line-drive banker from Ray Allen (team-high 16 points).

The Bulls missed their first three shots of the period before Pierce passed off a double team to Mickael Pietrus on the left wing. The newest Celtic buried a deep trey that cut the Chicago lead to 67-66.

The Celtics, though, got no closer.

Perhaps in an attempt at more energy and more rebounds out of the gate, Celts coach Doc Rivers started Bass in place of Jermaine O'Neal.

But the C's still started at a drudge, trailing 18-6 early and 26-13 by the end of the first quarter.

They cut the Chicago lead to 12 points (36-24) after a Chris Wilcox tip dunk with 4:34 left in second, but the visitors closed the half with a 12-5 run to enter the break ahead, 52-33.