But as dramatic as the setting is for Game 7 of the first-round series between the Bulls and Boston Celtics tonight at the TD Banknorth Garden, it's doubtful the moment can surpass -- or even match -- the excitement and tension of the Bulls' thrilling 128-127 triple-overtime Game 6 victory Thursday night at the United Center.

While this season's team isn't nearly the equal of the great Bulls teams from the Michael Jordan era, the UC never has been more electric than it was Thursday. From the final minutes of regulation through all 15 minutes of overtime play, just about everyone in the sellout crowd of 23,430 was standing and yelling as the teams went back and forth with one big play after another.

Even though it was a first-round game and it's unlikely either team can come close to winning the NBA championship this year, I can only think of one game in Bulls playoff history better than Thursday night's for sustained excitement -- Game 3 of the 1993 NBA Finals against the Phoenix Suns at the Stadium.

EVEN MJ COULDN'T OUTGUN Suns

After winning the first two games on the road, the Bulls returned home looking for a commanding 3-0 lead in the series. The game went into triple-overtime before the Suns won 129-121.

Though it was just Game 3, this was a must-win for the Suns -- because if they didn't find a way to win on the Bulls' home court, the series essentially was over. Jordan did everything he could to make that the case, pumping in 44 points, but the Suns prevailed after being led by the trio of Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle, who combined for 77 points.

Sure, there have been other Bulls playoff games that had more dramatic endings -- Jordan's shot over Craig Ehlo to win a first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1989, John Paxson's game-winning three-pointer to win Game 6 of the 1993 Finals and Jordan's jumper to win Game 6 of the 1998 Finals against Utah, to name a few -- but none had the prolonged drama of Thursday's thriller.

''So many things to talk about, so many big plays,'' Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said after the game. ''There is so much to talk about, I don't know where to start.''

That's an understandable sentiment, but perhaps the best place to start with is the 51 points scored by Celtics guard Ray Allen. Like the big-time player he is, Allen came up big in a game where his team needed a big individual performance to try to close out the series.

Then there was Bulls center Brad Miller -- two days after he was the victim of a hard foul in overtime and missed a pair of potential game-tying free throws -- scoring the final five points of regulation to send Game 6 into OT.

Of course, there was Bulls guard John Salmons (35 points) playing 60 minutes with a sore groin and coming up with big shot after big shot in the overtime sessions.

And finally, there was that jaw-dropping steal and fast-break three-point-play by Bulls center Joakim Noah late in the third overtime that might have been the most important -- not to mention most improbable -- play of the game.

After stealing the ball from Paul Pierce, Noah raced upcourt with Pierce chasing and threw down a right-handed dunk as he was being fouled. He then made the free throw to give the Bulls a 126-123 lead with 35.5 seconds left.

''It felt like it took me forever to get to that basket, but I'm happy I got there,'' Noah said.

NOW IT'S ALL ABOUT HEART

Four of the six games in this series have gone into overtime, and the teams have played a total of seven OTs to establish a new record for overtimes played by one team -- for an entire postseason.

Perhaps it's fitting that a series with games that seemingly won't end has gone the distance and comes down to a Game 7.

''It's a phenomenal series,'' Pierce said. ''This is great for fans. Everybody's getting their money's worth.

''Right now, it's going to come down to who has more toughness, who has more heart. At this point, we know what they're trying to do, they know what we're trying to do -- offensively and defensively -- so the team with the most heart and toughness is going to win Game 7.''

The way both teams have shown heart and toughness in this series, at least one more overtime may be necessary to determine that.

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