Playing without injured superstar Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls were humbled 109-92 by Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday in an NBA playoff stunner that exposed major weaknesses by the league's winningest team. Jrue Holiday scored 26 points and Lou Williams came off the bench to score 20 points for the 76ers, who had the worst regular-season record of any NBA playoff team but evened the first-round Eastern Conference series at 1-1. “Just a disappointing effort overall,” Bulls center Joakim Noah said. “We didn't play well offensively. We didn't play well defensively. We got our ass kicked. We will see what we are made of.” Chicago, which had won 50 games in the regular season to seize a home-court edge throughout the NBA playoffs, must travel to Philadelphia for games three and four of the best-of-seven series Friday and Sunday. Momentum swung to the 76ers after the Bulls struggled without Rose, who suffered a torn left knee ligament in the final seconds of Chicago's game-one triumph on Saturday. Rose, last season's NBA Most Valuable Player, was lost for the remainder of the playoffs and the Bulls missed his firepower, leadership and playmaking skills during a drought of 11 consecutive missed shots in the second half. Kevin Garnett had 15 points and 12 rebounds for the visiting Celtics, who were without injured shooting guard Ray Allen and suspended point guard Rajon Rondo, serving a one-game ban for bumping into a referee in game one. Noah scored 21 points to lead the Bulls, who closed the second quarter on a 20-10 run for a 55-47 half-time lead. Evan Turner, who was inserted into the 76ers starting lineup for the game, scored 19 points as the 76ers shot a season-best 59 percent from the field. Chicago connected on only 45 percent from the field. Carlos Boozer went 4-of-10 for nine points while Britain's Luol Deng went 3-of-12 for only eight points and Richard Hamilton was only 4-of-10 for 10 points. The Bulls had been 7-0 at home against the 76ers in prior playoff games. In another Eastern Conference game, Paul Pierce scored 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Boston Celtics over Atlanta Hawks 87-80 to level that series at 1-1. At Atlanta, Pierce said the team felt an extra sense of urgency playing without Rondo, especially as the Hawks led 66-61 entering the fourth quarter. The Celtics will host the next two games in the best-of-seven series on Friday and Sunday and return to Atlanta for game five next Tuesday. In Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant scored 38 points and the LA Lakers defeated Denver 104-100, seizing a two games to none lead over the Nuggets. Bryant, who made 15-of-29 shots from the field, helped put the Lakers halfway to a berth in the second round heading into games at Denver Friday and Sunday. Andrew Bynum scored 27 points while Ramon Sessions contributed 14 points and Spaniard Pau Gasol added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers. Ty Lawson scored 25 points to lead the Nuggets, who outrebounded the Lakers 52-48, causing Lakers coach Mike Brown great concern.
