It’s a series again. The Celtics looked helpless in the first two games, but tied the series at two games apiece after a convincing 104-95 victory. Boston led early and Chicago lacked the firepower to sustain a comeback.
The Game Flow
The Celtics played with great energy to start the game. An Isaiah Thomas three gave Boston a 14-4 lead after five minutes. Gerald Green headed the charge with 8 points and 5 rebounds. The Bulls struggled to move the ball and made only 2 of their first 10 attempts. The Celtics defense forced contested isolation shots and made it apparent how badly Chicago missed Rondo’s playmaking.
Brad Stevens rode the starters for the first seven minutes and the Celtics led 30-18 after one quarter. Bulls shot 5 of 20 in the opening frame. With Thomas on the bench to start the 2nd quarter, Olynyk hit a three to give Boston a 17 point lead, forcing a Chicago timeout, then Gerald Green hit another three to put the C’s ahead 41-21.
For the first three games, the Celtics had a -36 net rating in second quarters, with the bench squandering leads earned by the starters. It was much better tonight. Isaiah sat for the first six minutes of the second quarter and the bench maintained a 15 point lead. Nikola Mirotic’s three-point shooting eventually brought the Bulls within 10, and the Celtics led 57-46 at halftime.
Boston shot 49 percent in the first half while holding Chicago to 38 percent. Isaiah and Gerald each scored 16. Jimmy Butler scored 17 points on 11 free throws. The Celtics played with assertiveness and control that was missing in the first two games. They looked like the one seed, the more talented team.
Chicago stole back momentum in the 3rd quarter. Isaiah Canaan started at point guard and provided an early spark. He drew a charge on Isaiah Thomas then hit a three to put the Bulls within five, and it forced IT to the bench with four fouls. Robin Lopez again dominated the glass, grabbing three offensive rebounds and scored six early in the third. The Bulls took a two point lead but Thomas re-entered the game and ignited a 12-0 run, and Boston led 79-70 heading into the 4th quarter.
Brad Stevens opened the 4th with Rozier and Jerebko — it took less than two minutes to replace them with Thomas and Horford. Chicago cut the deficit to five but IT responded with consecutive driving layups. Boston led 86-76 with nine minutes remaining. Isaiah had 31 and looked like the best player on the floor for the first time this series.
Whenever the Bulls ate into Boston’s 4th quarter lead, Marcus Smart responded with a signature “winning play.” He had an acrobatic steal that thwarted a Chicago fast-break opportunity and led to an open Bradley dunk. He hit a clutch corner three with 3:30 remaining, then grabbed a key offensive rebound, which led to an Isaiah floater and put Boston up 11. Smart then assisted on an Al Horford “and-1” layup with a minute to play, effectively sealing it for the Celtics.
The Celtics shot only 2/15 from deep in the second half but still managed to close it out, winning 104-95, and evening the series at 2-2. The Bulls had their scoring spurts, but the Celtics never lost control of the game. Isaiah finished with 33 points on 11/21 shooting. Horford had 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Olynyk scored 10 on 4/4 shooting. Game 5 in Boston is a short three days away.
The Celtics had three technical fouls, as tension is slowly building between these two teams. Butler and Smart were exchanging words (and bumps) in the first half. Robin Lopez and Jae Crowder had an interesting (but hilarious) encounter involving their sneakers, and IT was chirping at Michael Carter-Williams at the end of the 3rd quarter.
Bulls' Jimmy Butler and Celtics' Marcus Smart go chest-to-chest pic.twitter.com/jOQbcP77p1
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) April 23, 2017
Jae Crowder is an intense, non-sympathetic man, and Robin Lopez has unique strategies for dealing with conflict:
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/856299369481588736
And here, Coach Stevens is particularly pissed off with Isaiah. He received the tech, but it’s nice to see Thomas playing with an edge.
Brad Stevens Yelling At Isaiah Thomas Before Technical pic.twitter.com/SZ8YLCOrUK
— Gustavo (@iamvega1982) April 24, 2017
Isaiah twisting and turning for a layup:
Cmon #Butler, you're like 10 inches taller than #IsaiahThomas. But you can't measure talent!!! Let's go #Boston #Celtics! #Bulls #NBA pic.twitter.com/XAUEpKVZ4f
— CS (@CullerSports) April 23, 2017
Needless to say, Butler had some issues containing the little guy:
IT can't shake Butler off with staggered screens, blows by him instead. #Celtics pic.twitter.com/7v4OINzLfi
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) April 24, 2017
Marcus Smart had an impactful 5 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. He made every “winning play” just as the Bulls crept into the Celtics lead. But Isaiah’s gotta get the cigar. He finished with 33 points, 7 assists, and 4 rebounds in 36 minutes. His +17 led the Celtics (Smart’s +9 was second). In the 3rd quarter, he scored or assisted on 12 straight points just as the Bulls were mounting a comeback.
The Grid
•Field Goals: Celtics 38/81 (47%), Bulls 32/76 (42%)
•Three Pointers: Celtics 10/37 (27%), Bulls 5/24 (21%)
•Rebounds: Celtics 41, Bulls 44
•Assists: Celtics 22, Bulls 21
•Free Throws: Celtics 18/22, Bulls 26/33
•Jimmy Butler: 33 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 7/16 FG, 19/23 FT
•Isaiah Canaan: 13 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 3/7 3FG, +11
•Gerald Green: 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7/13 FG, 4/9 3FG
•DNP-CD for Johnson and Zeller, Brown played 1 minute
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