basketball;NBA Bulls go on late blitz to beat Celtics behind Boozer and Deng

Feb 17, 2012, 7:22 GMT

Los Angeles - Carlos Boozer collected 23 points with 15 rebounds, Luol Deng also scored 23 with 10 assists, and the Chicago Bulls used a late 12-0 run to charge past the visiting Boston Celtics 89-80 on Thursday night.

Joakim Noah chipped in with 15 points and 16 boards for the NBA-best Bulls (25-7), who won for the seventh time in the last eight contests despite playing their fourth straight game without reigning the league's most valuable player Derrick Rose because of a sore lower back.

Kevin Garnett had 18 points and 10 rebounds while Rajon Rondo contributed 17 points with eight assists for the Celtics, who opened a six-game road trip with their second loss in as many nights.

After leading by 16 early in the third quarter, the Bulls found themselves knotted at 69-apiece after Boston's Ray Allen buried a jumper with eight minutes 42 seconds remaining.

The Bulls responded with a dozen unanswered points to regain control. Taj Gibson's layup ignited the decisive outburst while Deng bookended a three-pointer and a layup around a free throw by Kyle Korver. Boozer capped the surge with consecutive layups to make 81-69, and the Bulls improved to 11-1 at home.

Blake Griffin had 21 points with 14 rebounds, while Chris Paul dropped in all 13 of his points in the fourth quarter and the LA Clippers rallied from 18 down in the third quarter to beat the Portland Trail Blazers for their first time in six trips to the Rose Garden since Dec. 12, 2008, 74-71.

Nicolas Batum and Jamal Crawford scored 19 points apiece for the Trail Blazers, playing their second game without All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge because of a left ankle sprain.

Danny Granger scored 32 points despite playing with a left ankle sprain, helping the Indiana Pacers stop a season-high five-game losing streak while sending the visiting New Jersey Nets to their eighth straight loss, 93-88.

Deron Williams topped the struggling Nets with 29 points.