friday night featured three games on the 2017 NBA Playoffs schedule including the Boston Celtics visiting the Chicago Bulls. With the No. 1 seed down 2-0 in the first-round series, desperation was about to set in. However, the team seemed to be firing on all cylinders for this third game. They ultimately took it in convincing fashion winning 104-87 on the road. Now the Celtics will get a chance to even the series in a few days. Here's a look at how the game went and when they'll meet up again.

How the game was won

While floor general Isaiah Thomas has usually been leading the charge, it was a balanced effort in the Boston Celtics' win on Friday.

Four of the five starters scored 15 points or more. Al Horford led all scorers on the team with 18 points to go with six assists and eight rebounds. Thomas finished with 16 points and nine assists, while Jae Crowder also had 16. Terry Rozier provided 11 points off the bench. Gerald Green got his first start for the Celtics in tonight's playoffs game and was a major help in terms of spreading the floor. That translated to plenty of long range shots for the visitors.

The Celtics shot 47.7 percent as a team in the game including a 17-for-37 three-point shooting rate. The team managed to get the win despite losing the rebounding battle 52-37 and going to the charity stripe for less than eight attempts.

However, they also had just 12 turnovers compared to 17 for the home team and the three-point shooting seemed to be a major difference. Avery Bradley hit four of his six attempts from long distance while Thomas, Horford, Crowder and starter Gerald Green each had two.

For the losing side, Dwyane Wade led the Chicago Bulls with 18 points.

Teammate Jimmy Butler had a quiet night, hitting just seven shots of his 21 attempts for 14 points. Guard Rajon Rondo was declared out of action due to a broken thumb which meant Michael Carter-Williams and Jerian Grant were among the options for the Bulls. The two players combined for just eight points on the night.

Coming up next

The Celtics and Bulls will meet again in Chicago for Game 4 of this best-of-seven series. That meeting is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. TNT will handle the live telecast of the game around the United States.

As of this report, the Boston Celtics are already the favorites to win. They've got 2.5-points in their favor on the spread and are -145 on the moneyline. The Chicago Bulls are +125 underdogs at home for this fourth game of the NBA Playoffs series.