Bulls' defense struggles, can't contain Garnett

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Kevin Garnett shoots over Joakim Noah on his way to a 20-point, 17-rebound effort that paced the Celtics' romp over the Bulls.

BOSTON -- All the momentum the Bulls built with inspiring play during the recent seven-game road trip has disappeared after back- to-back flat performances -- the latest being a 104-92 loss to the Boston Celtics on Friday night at the TD Garden.

After their first winning record on the annual mid-November trip since the championship era, the Bulls (9-8) have dropped two straight.

''We're struggling defensively,'' Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. ''Playing from behind, we dug a big hole, and against quality opponents you can't do that.

''The games keep coming. We got into this together; we have to get out of it together. We have to fight a lot harder. We're capable; we can play better. We have to put more into it.''

Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting and eight assists, and Joakim Noah had 14 points and 10 rebounds, but this was another game where no one had an outstanding game.

''We've got to get back to playing defense,'' Noah said. ''They were getting whatever they wanted. We're not playing our best basketball, but we have to bounce back quick.''

Carlos Boozer, in his second game back, discarded his protective guard and finished with 12 points (4-for-10 shooting) and two rebounds. Boozer shot better than he did Wednesday night but still is far from his prime form.

Kevin Garnett led the Celtics (15-4) to their sixth straight win with 20 points (7-for-11 shooting) and 17 rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 12 points and 19 assists.

It was vintage Garnett, the kind of performance he gave regularly before he battled knee injuries the previous two seasons.

''He's been a high-level player for a long time in this league, and watching him play, I think he's completely healthy again,'' Thibodeau said before the game. ''In watching him play this year, he's back, back to 100 percent.''

The Bulls got off to another slow start and were down 26-12 nine minutes in the game. They were down 31-19 at the end of the first quarter but battled back early in the second quarter to tie the score at 34.

The Celtics had a 53-48 halftime lead, but the Bulls opened the second half with four quick points to pull within a point. But just when it seemed this might be another down-to-the-wire affair like the Nov. 5 meeting, the Bulls fell apart on both ends of the court.

After the Bulls closed to 53-52, the Celtics went on a 17-2 run for a 70-54 advantage midway through the third quarter.

The lead was 82-67 entering the fourth quarter. The Bulls made a token run to close to 84-72 early in the final quarter, but the Celtics answered with eight straight for a 90-72 edge with just under eight minutes left.

All the sellout crowd of 18,624 could do to entertain themselves the rest of the way was chant the name of Bulls forward (and former Celtic) Brian Scalabrine.

''On that circus trip, we got lucky and were able to come back,'' Boozer said. ''But we have to do a better job at the start and in the third.''

JOHN JACKSON

ON THE BULLS