Bulls should blame themselves first

No doubt, a prevailing topic of conversation until Game 6 tips off will be whether the Bulls got hosed in the 106-104 overtime loss in Boston on Tuesday.

Well, the Bulls should start by blaming themselves. They had an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter and were up 10 with seven minutes remaining and couldn't close it out. They couldn't convert with a chance to win the game at the end of regulation. They also couldn't do anything to take Paul Pierce away from his favorite spot on the floor. Pierce knocked down 3 straight jumpers over John Salmons late in the overtime. The final basket provided the winning margin with 3.4 seconds remaining.

The Celtics found a way to get it done, either by hitting big shots down the stretch or forcing some stops. That said, this was a tough game to officiate and Tuesday's crew had a rough night.

Was Rajon Rondo's foul against Brad Miller with two seconds left in overtime flagrant? Absolutely.

Even looking at the replay, I don't see how anyone could say Rondo made a legitimate attempt at the ball. He reached out, saw that he couldn't get to the ball and smacked Miller in the face as hard as he could to prevent the layup because that's all he could do.

That's the definition of a flagrant foul. The referees reviewed the incident on replay and still got it wrong.

Granted, if Miller misses the free throw, the Bulls still have to score in the final two seconds to change the outcome, but they would have had a chance.

To me, the strangest thing about Game 5 was how Celtics coach Doc Rivers complained – and was fined by the league – for complaining about illegal screen fouls called against center Kendrick Perkins and how Miller supposedly does the same thing and doesn't get called. Perkins actually said he thinks refs hate the Celtics.

Lo and behold, Perkins plays 48 minutes in Game 5 and doesn't get a single foul called against him. Meanwhile, Derrick Rose got bounced around like a pinball when he drove to the basket and never shot a free throw.

In overtime, it looked like Perkins fouled Rose twice on the same play when Rose grabbed an offensive rebound, but nothing was called.

I've talked about this before, how when an NBA team gets a reputation for playing physical defense, they get to play by a different set of rules and Boston is in that category. Two years ago, when the Celtics were bad, Perkins would have gotten 10 fouls in a game like this. Same with Glen Davis, who finished with 2 fouls on Tuesday. But now it's a different story and the Bulls just have to deal with it.

If nothing else, the Bulls can be encouraged that Boston seems to be fading as this series drags on. The short-handed Celtics barely survived Tuesday and may have less in the tank if the Bulls can force Game 7. Yes, that was Stephon Marbury on the court in late-game situations.

You'd think the Bulls should be able to channel their anger from Tuesday's loss into a good Game 6 performance and maybe even actually produce an easy victory as Boston tries to rest up for Game 7. We'll see.