The Boston Celtics defeat the Chicago Bulls for a third straight time to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Celtics finally took advantage of the home court and won 108-97 at the TD Garden, and they now have a chance to finish the series on Friday night in Chicago. The Bulls are still missing their point guard Rajon Rondo, who will be unavailable for the next game.
Boston trio had an effective night
The Celtics didn't shoot the ball well in this game as a team. As a matter of fact, the Bulls had a better field goal percentage than the Celtics. The visitors shot 50 percent from the field and 35 percent from the outside, while Boston shot 43 percent from the field and 22 percent from the three point line.
However, the home team didn't miss a single free throw, as they shot perfectly 23 of 23 from the foul line. Also, they had 14 more field goal attempts than Chicago, which was also a big part of this victory.
Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points, grabbed five rebounds and had four assists in 36 minutes on the floor, while shooting 6 of 17 from the field and just 1 of 10 from downtown. Avery Bradley also had 24 points, as he shot effectively 11 of 19 from the field and 2 of 5 from the three point line. Al Horford was a crucial guy for the Celtics, as he scored 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had nine assists, while shooting 7 of 11 from the field and 2 of 4 from the outside. Kelly Olynyk was the only other player that scored in double-digits for the Celtics, as he added 14 points and five rebounds to his stat sheet, while coming off the bench.
Vintage Dwyane Wade
Jimmy Butler played a game-high 40 minutes, but he wasn't a real threat to Celtics' defense, as he scored only 14 points, while shooting 6 of 15 from the field and 2 of 4 from the outside. The Celtics did a really good job not fouling Butler, and he missed his only free throw attempt. Butler also had eight rebounds and six assists.
Dwyane Wade exploded on Wednesday night with 26 points, eleven rebounds and eight assists, while shooting 7 of 18 from the field and 10 of 10 from the free throw line. Wade played 34 minutes and led the Bulls in scoring, rebounding and assisting. Robin Lopez added 14 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks, as he shot efficiently 6 of 7 from the field.
The Bulls' bench failed to make a difference in this game, as none of the bench players scored in double-digits.
The next game is on the schedule for Friday, at 8:00 pm, and the series will move back to Chicago.
