BOSTON — The Celtics’ offense has been excellent lately, and that continued Friday night.
For three quarters, anyway.
The Celtics dropped 90 points on the Chicago Bulls through the first 36 minutes Friday at TD Garden but went cold in the fourth quarter, allowing Chicago to erase a double-digit deficit.
Boston found its stroke at the perfect time, however, drilling five of its final six shots to pull away for a 110-101 win over the Bulls and snap a two-game losing streak.
Isaiah Thomas (22 points) and Avery Bradley (21 points) led a balanced Celtics scoring attack which saw Jared Sullinger flirt with a triple-double (18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists).
Jimmy Butler (24 points, 13 rebounds) and Derrick Rose (27 points, seven rebounds) were the lone bright spots for the Bulls, who now have lost six of their last eight games.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Kelly Olynyk, Jared Sullinger
ABOVE AVER-AGE
Bradley got the Celtics off to a hot start right out of the gate.
The Celtics guard connected on three of his first five shots to drop 11 points in the frame as part of a 34-point quarter. Bradley’s hot hand apparently wore off on his teammates, as Boston shot 51.9 percent from the floor in the quarter with the help of some excellent ball movement.
STEALING THE SHOW
The Celtics’ aggressive defense was a catalyst in Boston’s huge second-quarter run that helped break the game open.
The C’s took advantage of some careless Bulls ball-handling, forcing four Chicago turnovers over a span of less than three minutes midway through the second quarter as part of a monster 14-2 run.
Boston also benefited from continued strong shooting from behind the arc, going 6 for 13 from 3-point range in the first half as part of a 64-point effort.
CHARGING AHEAD
The C’s used the same formula — strong defense and sharp outside shooting — to start out hot in the second half.
More sloppy play from Chicago, including big man Pau Gasol, who had five turnovers, allowed Boston to rip off a 10-4 run early in the quarter.
ROSE TO THE CHALLENGE
Rose kept the Bulls in it with some stellar play down the third quarter stretch.
The lightning-quick guard shredded Boston’s defense to score Chicago’s final nine points of the quarter and cut the Celtics’ lead to single digits.
Rose scored 16 points in the third quarter alone.
SEEING RED
A frustrated Celtics offense went cold in the fourth quarter.
Boston started the frame 3 of 12 from the field and went nearly five full minutes without scoring a bucket from 9:14 to 4:29, while Gasol and Butler engineered a 9-0 run to help Chicago pull within one.
NO AMIR, NO PROBLEM
The Celtics’ big men stepped up in the absence of Amir Johnson, who missed Friday’s game due to personal reasons.
Olynyk started in Johnson’s place and had another strong offensive showing with 12 points on 5 of 11 shooting, while the aforementioned Sullinger tallied his third double-double in five games.
Little-used big man Tyler Zeller also got some run, tallying seven points in 15 productive minutes.
UP NEXT
A slight change of plans. The Celtics’ contest against against the 76ers in Philadelphia, originally scheduled for Saturday night, has been postponed to Sunday due to Winter Storm Jonas. Tipoff at Wells Fargo Center is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Mark L. Baer/USA TODAY Sports Images
