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Celtics make a stop in Chicago

Jan 8, 2011 - 4:03 PM (Sports Network) - The Boston Celtics shoot for their fifth consecutive victory tonight against the Chicago Bulls from the United Center.

Boston made it four wins in a row with Friday's 122-102 home victory over the Toronto Raptors thanks to 20 points and five boards from Paul Pierce. Ray Allen, Nate Robinson and rookie Luke Harangody all scored 17 points for the Celtics, who are 19-3 in the last 22 contests. Harangody also grabbed 11 rebounds.

"Yeah, he was great. It was phenomenal," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said of Harangody. "It's funny, our whole coaching debate all date was, you know, when you took Baby (Glen Davis) off the floor, (Andrea) Bargnani was going to still be on the floor, who do we put in? And we went with Luke. And I just thought his energy, number one, was fantastic. And he made shots."

Rajon Rondo, coming off his triple-double performance on Wednesday versus San Antonio, contributed nine points and seven assists. Shaquille O'Neal ended with 12 points and six rebounds.

The Celtics are 12-5 away from Beantown this season.

Chicago, meanwhile, has dropped two straight since a five-game winning streak and is coming off Friday's 105-99 loss at Philadelphia.

Derrick Rose finished with 27 points and nine assists, while Carlos Boozer had game-highs of 31 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, who will also host Detroit on the short homestand and are 15-3 in the Windy City this season. The Bulls have won five in a row at the United Center.

"We couldn't stop anybody, but we can't panic. We just lost two in a row. We have a game tomorrow [in Boston]. That's the good thing about the NBA, you play back-to-back," Rose said after the loss in south Philly.

The Bulls are still 14-4 in their last 18 games, and Boozer has posted a double-double in eight of his last 10 contests. Chicago is 21-4 this season when they hold their opponents under 100 points and 2-9 when allowing 100 or more points. It's averaging 102.2 ppg, 43.2 rpg, 23.7 apg, 8.17 spg and 7.44 bpg at home in 2010-11.

Boston has already beaten Chicago twice this season, with both games played at TD Garden, and is 10-3 in the previous 13 meetings between the teams.