BOSTON — What a difference eight days makes.
After leaving Boston last Tuesday trailing the Chicago Bulls 2-0, the Celtics snatched control of their first-round NBA playoff series Wednesday with a 108-97 Game 5 win at TD Garden.
The C’s struggled to hit shots in the first half but used a 20-4 fourth-quarter run to earn the first home win for either team in the best-of-seven series and take a 3-2 series lead.
Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley paced Boston on offense with 24 points each. Al Horford came up clutch with 21 points and nine assists, while Kelly Olynyk dropped 14 off the bench.
Dwyane Wade carried the Rajon Rondo-less Bulls offensively with 26 points, as Jimmy Butler finished with just 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting.
Here’s how this one went down.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Gerald Green, Jae Crowder, Al Horford
HEAT CHECK
The Celtics couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn in the opening minutes, starting 2-for-11 from the floor and missing their first nine 3-pointers. Gerald Green accounted for two of those deep misses and quickly was replaced by Marcus Smart, who finally ended the deep ball drought with a 3-pointer off a nifty feed from Thomas.
Fortunately for Boston, the Bulls couldn’t do much on offense, either. They attempted just 18 shots in the first quarter, as Butler started 2-for-7 from the floor. The Celtics’ second unit sparked the home team late in the frame, ripping off an 11-2 run aided by a pair of Bradley 3-pointers to take a three-point lead into the first break.
ABOUT THAT LIFE?
The game’s intensity ratcheted up in the second quarter as both teams tried to find their offensive groove. Terry Rozier got the crowd on its feet with a thunderous dunk early in the frame, but contributions from Bulls guards Isaiah Canaan and Anthony Morrow helped Chicago hang around.
The C’s engineered an 8-2 run late in the quarter thanks to a series of nice defensive stops, but Butler responded immediately with a layup and a foul to keep Chicago within one. Thomas and Canaan traded baskets down the stretch, as Boston led by just two points at halftime.
SEEING RED
Chicago’s starters made their presence felt during a strong third quarter for the Bulls. Robin Lopez scored Chicago’s first six points of the second half, and a Canaan 3-pointer put the Bulls up by one at the halfway mark of the frame.
Horford helped the C’s keep pace, knocking down a huge deep ball of his own with 1:54 to play in the quarter to put Boston back on top by two. Yet Butler got the last laugh in the third, drilling a 28-footer at the buzzer and to give the Bulls a two-point advantage heading into the fourth.
GREEN LIGHT
Just as the Celtics found their rhythm, the Bulls collapsed, and the result was a 13-0 Boston run in the fourth quarter that put the game away for good.
The C’s trailed by one with 10 minutes to go but used key buckets from Olynyk and Horford to pull in front.
Then Wade and Lopez picked up technical fouls in the span of under a minute, while the Celtics nailed their free throws (23-for-23 on the night) to put the final nail in Chicago’s coffin.
Butler attempted just two shots in the final 12 minutes, as the Bulls’ offense looked out of sync while tallying just 16 fourth-quarter points.
PLAY OF THE NIGHT
Rozier, for the love of elevation!
UP NEXT
The Celtics can end the series in Chicago on Friday in Game 6 at United Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
