After an unexpected victory in Game 1, the Chicago Bulls stunned the crowd at TD Garden again. Game 2 was played on Tuesday night in Boston in front of 19 thousand Celtics fans who wanted to celebrate their team's first win of this postseason. But the Bulls had something to say about it. Chicago looked nothing like the eighth-best team in the East as they absolutely dominated the Celtics in this Game 2 and now hold a commanding 2-0 series lead.
Great team effort by Chicago
Fred Hoiberg's team started the game with a 31-point first quarter. They held a five-point lead after the first 12 minutes of playing time (31-26).
Midway through the second quarter the Celtics rallied back and came within two points (38-40) but at halftime, it was 54-46 for the Bulls. Nikola Mirotic and Robin Lopez scored 10 points each in the half and Rajon Rondo had nine assists. The third quarter was all about Jimmy Butler. He scored 10 points in the third and Chicago held an 11-point lead (86-75) going into the fourth quarter.
The Bulls never looked back after that and had their biggest lead of the game at 19 points (105-86) with five minutes left in the game. The final score was 111-97 for the away team that outrebounded the Celtics 43-38 in this one. Chicago had 28 team assists and shot an impressive 44% from the three-point line.
Boston finished the game with 16 turnovers and missed eight of their 19 free throw attempts (11-19).
Rondo with a near triple-double
Six Bulls players finished in double-digit scoring on Tuesday. Dwyane Wade had 22 points, including 16 in the second half. He added four rebounds and two assists. In his 14-year career, Wade has never lost a series in which his team led 2-0.
Jimmy Butler also scored 22 points and had eight rebounds and eight assists.
Former Celtic, Rajon Rondo, played a great all-around game. He was one rebound shy of a triple-double as he finished with 11 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds. All five Bulls starters reached double figures on Tuesday.
Isaiah Thomas led all Celtics in scoring with 20 points and added four rebounds and two assists.
He was just 1-5 from the three-point line and also missed six free throws (7-13). Jae Crowder helped with 16 points and four assists while Marcus Smart finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Chicago now holds 2-0 series lead with Game 3 scheduled on Friday night in Chicago. Only one other No. 8 seed has gone on the road and won its first two games. That was the 1992-93 Los Angeles Lakers who went into Phoenix and earned two victories.
