Rare regulation win helps Boston through

Agence France-Presse

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"It was a long, grueling series. I thought this was one of the most mentally tough series I've ever been in," Pierce said. "Thank goodness we were battle-tested and we were able to pull this out in seven games. We still are the champs until somebody knocks us off."

Boston pulled away just before halftime then held on to oust Chicago in regulation time. The clubs played a record seven overtimes in the first six games of the series.

"I don't see great. I just see hard," said Celtics coach Doc Rivers. "For a coach, it's just: Win the series."

Allen had a 51 point performance in game six for Boston who will play Orlando in the next round which begins tonight. The seventh-seeded Bulls return to Chicago knowing they took the defending NBA champion to the maximum.

Ben Gordon scored 33 and Kirk Hinrich scored 16 for Chicago.

Boston made all 11 of its free throws in the last two minutes to hold on. The four overtime games was a record for a series, and the seven overtimes total were the most any team.

"We had a lot of young guys who went through it for the first time. I think that will help us in the future," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. "Whenever you can go through an experience like this, I think it's only going to make you better."