Chicago Bulls Beat Boston Celtics Behind Luol Deng's All-Star Performance

Luol Deng proved he was worthy of his All-Star selection tonight, playing a brilliant game, scoring 23 points and adding 10 assists to lead the Bulls to an 89-80 victory of the Boston Celtics.

Deng also set a new career high from beyond the arc, hitting six from deep, the last of which sealed the game. His 10 assists followed up the 11 he had in his previous game against the Kings. 

The frontcourt of the Bulls continued to step up big as the starting backcourt was once again sidelined with injuries. Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 15 rebounds. Joakim Noah added 15 points and 16 rebounds. 

With the questions about the frontcourt earlier this season it is good to see them carry the team while the backcourt is on the bench. Ironically, the iron-man of the Bulls this year has been Boozer, who is the only player to start every game. 

The Bulls did a better job of containing Rajon Rondo tonight. He still did a decent job scoring 17 points to go with 8 assists and 7 rebounds. 

The Bulls did an outstanding job of limiting the big three as Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce combined for just 44 points on 42 shot attempts. 

Neither team shot well though, as you might expect with two of the leagues' top defenses going at hit. Boston shot .397 on the night while the Bulls shot .395. 

The biggest difference in the game was offensive rebounding. The Bulls had 16 offensive boards while the Celtics had just six. 

The Bulls, who lead the league in team assists per game, also did a better job of passing the ball.  Impressively, 27 of their 30 field goals were assisted. 

The Bulls extended their NBA rest record to 25-7. Their next game comes Saturday afternoon against New Jersey. Both Hamilton and Rose have been showing signs of improvement and could play in Saturday's matchup.