Bulls Fall to Celtics Despite Comeback, Series Tied at 2
In a series that had been one of the strangest in the NBA Playoffs so far through three games, it’s only fitting that the 8th-seeded Bulls would fall behind by 20 at home, come all the way back to take a lead at one point, only to then fall 104–95.
Gerald Green started for Boston for the second game in a row, and played a big role in pushing the Celtics to that early lead, shooting 4-of-7 from 3-point range and scoring 16 points in the first half. The Bulls also struggled to stay in front of Isaiah Thomas, and Boston was able to stretch its lead out to 20 before the first half ended.
While the Celtics’ offense was firing on all cylinders through the first 24 minutes, the Bulls’ offense consisted mostly of four players watching as Jimmy Butler forced his way to the lane and the free throw line. After a quiet Game 3 on Friday, Butler was able to get to the line 14 times in the first half. A mini-shooting slump from Boston helped Chicago cut the lead to 57–46 heading into the break.
The Bulls would outscore the Cs 18-6 over the first eight minutes of the third quarter to take their first lead of the game, but it wouldn’t last long. Boston would immediately answer with a 16-5 run of its own to close the period, with Thomas scoring or assisting on every Celtics bucket during that stretch.
Chicago would hang around throughout the 4th without ever really threatening to retake the lead. Butler played the entirety of the second half, finishing with a game-high 33 points on 7-of-16 shooting, while making 19 of a whopping 23 free throw attempts in a good bounce-back game for him.
The rest of the roster was largely absent, Robin Lopez was limited to 22 minutes as Celtics Coach Brad Stevens’s decision to play Green more in small lineups forced Lopez off the floor. In tonight’s edition of Fred Hoiberg point guard rotation roulette, Jerian Grant got the start but was replaced after a dreadful five minutes by Michael Carter-Williams and would not see the floor for the remainder of the evening. Carter-Williams wasn’t much better in his eight minutes of work, and would cede most of the minutes to Isaiah Canaan, who wasn’t phenomenal, but fared much better than either of the Bulls other lead guards, scoring 13 points and finishing +11, the only Bull with a positive +/- for the contest.
Outside of Butler, there wasn’t much to be excited about from the Bulls performance in this one. After stealing home court advantage with a pair of wins to open the series, they’ve given it right back. In a series in which the home team has yet to win a game, that might not be the worst thing, but it’s still discouraging.
Game 5 is back in Boston, on Wednesday night.
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