Bulls v. Celtics, Game 7: Fourth Quarter

Davis draws JoNo's third foul on a pick and roll, a play that Boston should run more, but when the Babe misses both, it's hard to push that theory. Gordon misses a three. Davis gets Lindsay Hunter on a mismatch as Rose was getting some rest and fouls him effectively. Marbury in, and Salmons gets his fourth and the team's third in under a minute. Pierce with an awkward miss. Hinrich draws a shooting foul on House, and after the makes, the game is as close as its been since the second quarter, 78-73.

House hits a wide-open three as Hinrich falls, but he responds with his first make of the game to make it five again. JoNo's fourth foul is on Davis, who misses yet another free throw, and he's now 3 of 7 from the line for the game. 81-75 with 10 minutes to play. Hinrich hits his second in a row and it's four again; I don't like Pierce's game at all so far tonight. Marbury continues his least valuable effort with a wide open miss. Hinrich misses a three that would have made it very close, and House responds with a three that he over-celebrates to a technical. He's made four of four from the arc, and it's 84-77 as we go to commerce, with Celtics Fan having real issues with Hero House getting that call.

Gordon makes the tech to cut it to 6 with 8:48 left. Perkins back in for Davis, Rondo in for the useless Marbury. Gordon with a bad miss and possession. Hard to see how the Bulls come back with the Celtics being in the penalty for the entire fourth quarter, and Pierce goes to work on that theory right away with a foul on Rose... but another miss is making Celtics Fan grip, their ninth miss of the game. Gordon misses, and JoNo gets number five; he obliges Celtics Fan by crying over an elbow and extra shot from Dirty Rondo. Pierce makes both, and it's 9 again. Salmons misses a three with good defensive switches from the home team. Scalabrine misses a wide open kill shot three. Rose misses over Perkins and it's getting late in the day for the Bulls to have empty trips. Miller with a steal on the pick and roll, and Hinrich makes a big three on a late House close. It's six again.

Perkins exploits a switch mismatch for an easy deuce. Gordon gets it to Salmons down low, who angles nicely for the make. Hinrich with a steal and Rose gets House's second, and Doug Collins wonders, correctly, why Ray Allen is on the bench right now. We go to commerce pondering this questions, along with why TNT has to torture us with the same house ads, over and over again, even though I'm something of a fan of Holly Hunter's tits. You have to admit, they're holding up well for their age. (Hey, what else am I supposed to look at on all of these repeat viewings?)

The refs adjust the scoring on a shot from the first quarter -- wow! -- to make it 89-84. You have to love NBA officiating, you really do. Allen back in. Gordon draws Allen's third, and with 5:39 left, Gordon makes both to cut it to three -- three! -- with 5:39 left. Gordon now has 27. Pierce to Allen, who misses, Gordon misses a transition three that might have been tipped. Pierce misses, but gets his own rebound, and feeds Perkins to the rack, a play that's killing the Bulls, because as good as Derrick Rose is at blocking shots, it's asking a bit much for him to do that against a center. 91-86 with 4:32 left. Allen picks up his fourth.

Salmons misses a drive. Four minutes left. TNT shows Marbury for some reason. Rondo misses at the rim. Salmons misses a three that was wide open and necessary. Rondo makes his fourth turnover of the quarter, careless. The Bulls respond with an ugly turn by Salmons; both teams looked gassed. Pierce misses in the lane, but Allen boards. Perkins is fouled hard down low by Miller, and double technicals are assessed . Miller's fifth foul, and with 2:53 left in regulation, the refs are trying to make sure this doesn't devolve from basketball. Lots of luck with that, gentlemen.

Perkins passes the Miller test by making both free throws; 7 point game with 3 minutes left, and if this were a normal series, you'd think it was End TImes. Nope -- House fouls Gordon, who is just money at the stripe, and he makes a quick two to cut it back to five. 2:45 left. Pierce walks, House walks, then makes a three. Huge, and naive of me to think either walk would be called. Gordon goes one on team and gets Pierce to commit his third. House has not missed tonight, and has 14 points on 5 shots. Good Heavens. After the Gordon make, it's 96-90 with 2 minutes left.

Pierce to Allen, who leans in to Gordon and gets the call, properly. Can one of the best free throw shooters in the game's history avoid the team-wide yips? Because honestly, had the Cetlics hit their free throws, this would be over already. Yes, he hits both... but the Bulls will not go quietly (surprise!), as Hinrich hits a three. The refs are calling every touch foul now, odd for this point in the game, but given the potential for trouble, understandable. Allen hits both to get it back to 7. 100-93 with 90 seconds left.

Gordon again; I'm not saying he scares Celtics Fan, but the arena soils itself when he touches the ball. 100-95.The C's run clock and wind up with Scalabrine calling timeout with 8 seconds on the clock. Not to sound bitter or nothing, but the fact that the Celtics can't get killshot stops is why they aren't going to defend their title. 65 seconds left. Celtics Management plays "Eye of the Tiger" just to remind us all that Celtics Management is Not Hip. Lindsay Hunter can't get in to give his foul. Pierce with a miss. JoNo board, and Gordon finally misses as House gets away with a bump. JoNo's sixth foul puts Pierce on the line, and he makes both to make the comeback very improbable. 102-95 with 46.8 left, and TNT notes how Gordon has really done it all at the line, not from the field.

Collins notes how the early bonus situation might have saved the Celts. Miller rolls to the hoop for an easy one, but then the Bulls fall asleep and fail to foul; Allen gets to the rack and scores, adding the Miller sixth foul. How you fail to foul there, I have no idea. Hunter in for Miller, and it's 105-97 with 36.6 seconds left; if this somehow gets to overtime now, Celtics Fan will slit his wrists. Hey, hope springs eternal.

Gordon misses a three, but a Hinrich tap makes it six. An unconscionable Rondo steal leads to a Gordon miss from three that would have been absolutely freaking unreal, but it stays out, and Salmons can't keep it in bounds. 105-99 with 25.6 left.

Marbury in. Really. Doc Rivers must enjoy drama. Gordon fouls him, his third. Can the Least Valuable Player prolong the drama? Nope, Starchild makes both, and it's 107-99 with 25 seconds left. Gordon misses, House rebounds, and that, Finally, Is That. The Chicago Vampires have had their heads cut off, the stake in the heart, the head removed, garlic placed in the mouth and the entire mess left in the noon day sun. House makes both to make it a 10 point game. Hinrich misses, Pierce rebounds, House throws it to the rafters, and honestly, I think Celtics Fan is too tired to cheer. It's over; Celtics advance, 109-99, with the scariest 10 point win ever.

At the end of it all, the end of the best series in NBA history, it just came down to this: the Bulls weren't ready to win this, and the Celtics weren't ready to die. And for everyone who thinks the Bulls are just going to be back and be better next year... well, Gordon's a free agent, they need to figure out how Luol Deng works with Salmons on the roster as well, and I'm not necessarily buying the idea that time will make Vinny del Negro smart.

Congratulations, really, to both teams for playing the series of the decade, if not the league's history; even tonight's game was riveting, if only for what had come before. Here's hoping we wont spend the rest of the next two months pining for its return.