Bulls-Celtics Preview

With the coronation of the NBA champions complete, it's now back to business for the Boston Celtics as they defend their first title in 22 years.

It won't take them long to come up against a new challenge as they welcome No. 1 overall draft pick Derrick Rose and his Chicago Bulls to Boston on Friday night.

Before their season opener on Tuesday, the Celtics received their championship rings and raised the franchise's 17th banner to the TD Banknorth Garden rafters in an emotional ceremony that drew tears from finals MVP Paul Pierce.

"Only one team in the world can have this night, and it's us," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "But now I'm glad that we can concentrate on basketball."

It took them a while to do that Tuesday, but after a slow start, Pierce and his teammates managed to tighten up their signature defense against Cleveland, holding the Cavaliers to 35 second-half points in a 90-85 victory.

Kevin Garnett was just 5-of-15 from the field and Ray Allen had only eight points on 2-of-9 shooting, but Pierce compensated for his fellow All-Stars, scoring 27 points. Leon Powe added 13 off the bench for the Celtics, who continued their dominance at home after going 48-7 there last season, including the playoffs.

"We just kind of settled in," Pierce told the Celtics' official Web site. "We didn't really play well in the first half defensively, and we are a defensive team. After halftime, emotions got out of the way, and we started to play our brand of basketball."

The next task for the Celtics (1-0) is duplicating their dominant start to last season, when they won their first eight games and 29 of their first 32 to announce their resurgence.

The Bulls (1-0) are also hoping for improvement following a difficult 33-49 season, and though they probably aren't on their way to a championship season, they're hoping their 108-95 victory over Milwaukee in Tuesday night's opener is a positive sign.

"I had a bad taste in my mouth all summer," guard Kirk Hinrich said. "We're excited about getting this first win, but it's just a step. We have a long ways to go."

The man in the spotlight for Chicago on Tuesday was Rose, who had 11 points and nine assists in his NBA debut after leading Memphis to the NCAA tournament title game last season. The Chicago native helped pace a balanced Bulls offense, as six players scored in double figures, led by 21 from Luol Deng and 18 from Ben Gordon off the bench.

New Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro, a winner in his first game, said Rose was upset about his four turnovers, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers was still impressed by the young point guard.

"(The Bulls are) much improved," Rivers told the Celtics' official Web site. "... Rose, he didn't have a great game, but you can already see that he's going to be a great player. He's already controlling that team, they're running at a better speed. His decision-making is what stood out."

As happy as they were with their season opener, the Bulls are well aware that they'll be in for a much tougher test on Friday. Chicago lost all four of its games to the Celtics last season, including the two in Boston by a combined 48 points.