Celtics hold off Bulls for 17th victory of season

The rampaging Boston Celtics won for the 17th time in 19 games, holding off the Chicago Bulls for a 92-81 road victory on Saturday as Ray Allen overcame a poor shooting night to lead all scorers with 21 points.

Rajon Rondo matched his season high with 18, Kevin Garnett added 16 points and nine rebounds and rookie Glen "Big Baby" Davis came off the bench with eight points and 12 rebounds.

Allen was just 6-for-16 shooting.

The Bulls (6-12) made a late run to close to 86-81 in the final minute but the Celtics would not let the game get any closer.

"It was a great game, number one," Celtics coach Doc Rivers told reporters. "It was a very competitive game."

Most of the games the Celtics have played so far this season have not been this competitive.

"We knew it was going to be one of those tough games," said Boston's Paul Pierce.

"The Bulls have been playing very well as of late and we knew coming in here it was going to be difficult because we haven't beaten them in a while.

"It was one of those grind-it-out games but we found a way to get it done."

Boston ground out the win even though Pierce managed just 1-for-8 shooting and finished with 10 points.

He was 0-for-4 in the first half and delivered his only basket from open play in the third quarter. Boston (17-2) has now won six straight games.

Andres Nocioni led the Bulls with 21 points and Kirk Hinrich added 16 and six assists.

"It's tough," Chicago's Chris Duhon said. "We had some good opportunities against a talented team, but we missed some easy baskets when we had some easy shots."

Chicago's Luol Deng felt the Celtics were the best team the Bulls have seen this season.

"They've got established stars," he said. "They also have a lot of really good role players and they play really well together."

In Minnesota, Al Jefferson matched a career high with 32 points and pulled down 20 rebounds as the Minnesota Timberwolves downed Phoenix to end a five-game National Basketball Association skid.

Marko Jaric had 19 points and Craig Smith added 16 in the 100-93 victory. Minnesota ended its third five-game losing streak of the season.

A run in the third period and strong defense in the fourth from the Timberwolves snapped the Suns' five-game winning streak.

The Wolves closed the third quarter with a 10-1 run that gave them an 87-80 lead.

The Timberwolves stretched their lead to as many as 10 points early in the fourth quarter, but Steve Nash whittled the gap with two straight three-pointers.

However, Minnesota kept the Suns scoreless for almost six minutes as it held on for the victory.

Josh Howard scored 47 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks withstood a 41-point night by Deron Williams and beat the visiting Utah Jazz 125-117.

Allen Iverson scored 23 points and added 10 assists and Kenyon Martin had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 101-97 home victory over the Sacramento Kings.

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