Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose (No. 1) goes up for a shot as Boston Celtics' Nate Robinson looks on during the fourth quarter of their NBA game in Chicago April 13, 2010. (REUTERS)

CHICAGO (AP) – Derrick Rose scored a career-high 39 points, Kirk Hinrich added a season-high 30 and the Chicago Bulls helped their playoff chances with a 101-93 victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday night.

The eighth-place Bulls lead Toronto by a game in the Eastern Conference and will make the playoffs as long as they finish with a better record, meaning they need a win at Charlotte on Wednesday or a loss by the Raptors to New York.

Fourth-place Boston, meanwhile, can forget about catching Atlanta for the third seed after falling for the sixth time in nine games.

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 28 points, and Ray Allen scored 25. Kevin Garnett added 14 points and nine rebounds after sitting out the previous game to rest.

The Bulls took control with a 14-4 run to start the fourth, giving them an 81-72 lead, and hung on for a crucial victory.

Rose scored 17 in the fourth, and Hinrich added 10, including a buzzer-beating jumper that made it 95-88 with 43.7 seconds left. Rose then punctuated it with a breakaway finger roll, opting against the dunk with the crowd ready to explode.

The Bulls were trailing 68-67 entering the fourth but scored the first six points, getting a nice break from Boston's Rasheed Wallace in the process.

He put back a missed jumper by Brad Miller, capping a six-point spurt to start the fourth that gave the Bulls a 73-68 lead.

Wallace simply glared toward the ceiling after his two-handed tip-in as the crowd roared. Shortly after that, a fan yelled "Give it to Wallace" as Miller held the ball before launching an airball before the shot-clock buzzer, and things continued to take a turn for the worse for Boston.

Rajon Rondo fouled Rose, resulting in a three-point play that made it 78-72. Joakim Noah hit a free throw after being fouled on an offensive rebound following a charge by Allen, and the Bulls scored again off another Celtics turnover. This time, Wallace's pass to Glen Davis went out of bounds because of a miscommunication and Rose pulled up for a jumper, making it 81-72.

Del Negro: No comment on reported altercation
CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro would not comment on a reported altercation with executive vice president of basketball operations John Paxson.

Del Negro simply said "no comment on that" after the Bulls' victory over the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.

Yahoo! Sports, citing sources, reported Paxson shoved Del Negro twice in the chest and had to be restrained in a confrontation over Joakim Noah's minutes after the March 30 home game against Phoenix.

Paxson did not return a call from The AP seeking comment.

"This is an organizational issue, which we will handle internally," Bulls spokesman Tim Hallam said.