Los Angeles - A classic postseason series ended in familiar fashion: the Boston Celtics won Game Seven at home. Ray Allen scored 23 points and the Celtics got a huge lift from their bench Saturday night as they lived to defend their NBA title with a hard-fought 109-99 victory over the determined Chicago Bulls.
Reserve guard Eddie House did not miss a shot and scored 16 points for the second-seeded Celtics, who improved to 20-5 all-time in Game Sevens, including 17-3 at home. En route to their 17th championship a year ago, Boston closed out each of its first two series with Game Seven home wins.
"The experience helped from being there before," said Celtics forward Paul Pierce, who had 20 points and nine rebounds.
"They made plays down the stretch," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "They are a veteran team. That's why they are the defending champions."
This series was among the best in NBA history, with a record four games going to overtime, including Chicago's 128-127 triple-OT home win in Game Six that forced the 101st Game Seven in league annals. But the champions responded with a gritty effort.
"It was a long, grueling series," Pierce said. "I tip my hat to the Bulls. You didn't expect them to play the way they did throughout the whole series. They really pushed us to the limit. Thank God we were battle-tested."
"I'm proud of the way my players fought," Del Negro said.
Most of the series was played on an emotional seesaw, with both teams' hopes rising and falling on countless clutch shots. In this game, however, the Celtics took the lead for good with a big second quarter sparked by their bench and held off several surges by the seventh-seeded Bulls.
Consecutive jumpers by Chicago's Kirk Hinrich cut the deficit to 81-78 with 9:47 to play, but House answered with one of his four three-pointers.
Two free throws by Ben Gordon - who scored 33 points - pulled Chicago within 89-86 with 5:39 left. Boston's Kendrick Perkins scored inside and added two free throws. After two more foul shots by Gordon, House drained another three-pointer to push the margin to 96-88 with 2:29 remaining.
"It's important that we find Eddie good shots," Allen said.
The Bulls made one last spurt, getting within 100-95 on a floater by Gordon with 1:22 to go. They had a chance to get closer after Paul Pierce misfired on a jumper, but Gordon missed a floater and Pierce sank two from the line for a 102-95 lead with 46 seconds to play.
"I think this was probably one of the most mentally tough series I had to deal with," Pierce admitted.
Boston's title defense resumes in less than 48 hours against the third-seeded Orlando Magic and superstar center Dwight Howard.
"I would rather play this way," Allen said. "I don't like the rest. I think we are in a great rhythm."
Glen Davis scored 15 points and Perkins added 14 and 13 rebounds for the Celtics, who shot 45 percent (35-of-78) and made 30-of-39 free throws, including their last 15.
Derrick Rose scored 18 points, Hinrich added 16 and John Salmons 12 for the Bulls, who shot 39 percent (30-of-77) and sank 32-of-36 foul shots, including 19-of-19 in the second half.
Gordon scored 18 points in the first 13 minutes, including a three-pointer and jumper to open the second quarter and give Chicago its largest lead at 33-23.
The Bulls still held a 37-30 advantage after a jumper by Tyrus Thomas with 8:01 to go. But they managed just two free throws the rest of the period, missing six straight shots and committing eight turnovers.
"We got stagnant with our ball movement and had too many turnovers," Del Negro said.
Meanwhile, the Celtics tightened their defense and got an unlikely spark from their bench, which had contributed very little in the series.
"In a series where our bench hadn't given us much, they were phenomenal tonight," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers, whose reserves provided 30 points.
After backup forward Brian Scalabrine contributed eight early points to keep Boston in it, House knocked down two three-pointers and reserve center Mikki Moore added four points to help the Celtics race to a 52-39 halftime lead.
Rose scored 10 points in the third quarter to help the Bulls inch within 78-72 entering the final period.
