The Boston Celtics finished off the Chicago Bulls with a 105-83 blowout victory in Game 6 on Friday night.
Chicago had a golden opportunity to force a Game 7 in the best-of-seven series, but Boston proved why it’s the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed with a dominant performance at United Center.
Avery Bradley was the man for the Celtics on Friday. The veteran guard led the C’s with 23 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. Gerald Green (16 points), Al Horford (12 points), Isaiah Thomas (12 points) and Jae Crowder (12 points) also scored in double figures for Boston.
Jimmy Butler had a strong night with 23 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep Chicago in the contest.
With the win, the Celtics took the first-round series 4-2 and advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals to face the Washington Wizards.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder
PF: Gerald Green
C: Al Horford
C’S STRONG EARLY
The Bulls didn’t seem to be playing with a “do or die” mentality in the first frame, and the Celtics took full advantage, jumping out to a 30-23 first-quarter lead. Boston had six players score in the opening 12 minutes, led by Bradley’s nine points. Horford posted a well-rounded first quarter, scoring four points to go along with four assists and three rebounds. Despite playing with an injured knee, Butler paced all scorers in the first with 10 points.
THRIVING FROMÂ DEEP
Boston took a 54-41 lead into the break, due in large part to its success from beyond the arc. The C’s converted on nine of 18 3-point attempts, while the Bulls only sunk two of 10. Amazingly, Thomas was not one of the six Celtics who hit a 3-pointer in the first half, as he went 0-for-5 from deep.
The Celtics played clean, team basketball in the first half, which helped them build a sizable lead. The green dished out 16 assists through two quarters and only turned the ball over four times. Butler continued to keep the Bulls in the contest, though, as he posted 17 first-half points to lead all scorers. Bradley and Green paced the Celtics with 10 points each.
FOOT ON THE GAS
The C’s didn’t let up to open the second half. In fact, they kicked it up a notch and held an 88-59 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Bradley erupted for 13 third-quarter points, sparking the Celtics’ surging offense. Boston improved its shooting percentage to 55 percent through three quarters, while the Bulls regressed to just 40 percent.
Chicago began to look like it was throwing in the towel early. Heading into the final frame, the Bulls had more turnovers (10) than assists (nine) and looked completely disorganized on defense. Chicago’s total lack of urgency provided the Celtics with a multitude of wide-open shots, which Boston took full advantage of.
BOSTON CRUISES
The fourth quarter effectively was garbage time. The Bulls continued to show no signs of life, and the Celtics gave them no room to mount any sort of comeback. After considerable struggles in the first two games of the series, Boston looked like a completely different team in the final four contests. The C’s head into the second round of the playoffs with tremendous confidence and momentum, and await a fiery Wizards team with whom they have history.
PLAY OF THE GAME
IT was fired up after dishing an alley-oop to Horford.
UP NEXT
The Celtics will host the Wizards in Game 1 of their second-round series Sunday. Tip-off from TD Garden is set for 1 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images
