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Celtics and Bulls begin home-and-home series

Mar 11, 2007 - 4:27 PM Chicago (36-28) at Boston (18-43) 6:00 pm EDT

BOSTON (Ticker) - The Chicago Bulls have not had any trouble with the Boston Celtics and would like to keep it that way.

The Bulls will try to extend their series winning streak to seven straight games when they visit the upstart Celtics in the opener of a home-and-home series Sunday.

Chicago has not suffered a setback in the series against Boston since a 101-97 home loss on January 29, 2005. The teams play again Tuesday at Chicago.

The Bulls improved to 7-3 since the All-Star break with Thursday's 100-76 thrashing of the Orlando Magic. Ben Gordon scored 25 points and has led the Bulls in scoring in seven straight games.

The Celtics have the worst record in the Eastern Conference but have stepped up their play of late with five wins in six games, including Friday's 118-103 home triumph over the Seattle SuperSonics.

Forward Al Jefferson continued to be the force behind Boston's resurgence. He is averaging 21.3 points and 14.0 rebounds since the All-Star break.