Celtics coach Doc Rivers ruled Garnett out before the series started.

Garnett missed 22 of the Celtics' last 26 regular-season games because of a strain of the popliteus tendon, which sits at the back of the knee. The tendon strain must heal naturally, and has taken longer than anticipated. Garnett will likely have offseason surgery on his right knee to remove a bone spur.

Garnett has continued to get treatment in the slim hopes that he would be able to return in the postseason.

CASE CLOSED

There will be no further action against Celtics guard Rajon Rondo and Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich for their altercation, according to a league spokesman.

Rondo was assessed a flagrant Foul 1 and Hinrich a technical after a shoving match with 28 seconds left in the first quarter of the Bulls' 127-126 win in triple-overtime on Thursday.

MUST-SEE TV

Both TNT and Comcast SportsNet posted record ratings for Game 6.

TNT earned a national 3.5 rating with 4,048,000 households and 5,352,000 total viewers making the game the most watched Round One NBA game in cable television history. The game was also cable's No. 1 telecast for the evening in households, total viewers and key adult and male demographics.

Comcast SportsNet drew a local 6.35 household rating; approximately 222,000 households for the entire game and scored a 10.3 peak rating during the 9:45 p.m. quarter-hour (approximately 360,000 households). So far through five first-round game telecasts, over 757,000 Chicago TV homes have watched the Bulls -Celtics series on CSN.

Compared to the 2007 Bulls' first-round playoffs series against Miami, household ratings on Comcast SportsNet are up 18 percent for this year's first-round series.

The source for all ratings information is provided by Nielsen Media Research.

VINNY, HA! HA!

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro laughed when he deadpanned: ''It is the best [series] I have coached.''

Del Negro played 14 years professionally, 12 in the NBA.

''Playing is different than coaching,'' he said. ''I had a lot of great series playing with the San Antonio but nothing like this with overtime and guys making shots.

''I'm so pleased with our guys. I'm pleased with the way they're committed to each other and [are] finding a way.''

RAY'S RECORD

The 51 points Ray Allen scored in Game 6 set a record for most by a Bulls playoff opponent, as did the nine baskets scored from three-point range.

Allen also was three points shy of the Celtics' record for scoring in a postseason game, set by John Havlicek against Atlanta on April 1, 1973. Havlicek scored 54 in regulation.

Still, Allen told the Globe he was upset he didn't do more to get Boston a win.

''When I was sitting in the shower I was thinking about all the plays that I missed, all the shots that I missed that didn't end up falling,'' he said. ''When you're on the losing end, you just think about all the great opportunities we had to win, all the bad plays that we made. It was reminiscent of games in this series past where we couldn't close it out.

''As an individual, I do everything I can to be ready for whatever play comes my way or whatever I can do to help this team win.''

HAND IT TO HIM

Rondo's 19 assists in Game 6 were one shy of the record Magic Johnson set for a Bulls playoff opponent.

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