Celtics Pull Even With Bulls, 104-95

The Boston Celtics defeated the Chicago Bulls, 104-95, at United Center on
Sunday evening in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoffs. The
series is now tied 2-2. The Celtics (2-2) had secured a likely series-salvaging
victory on Friday evening, producing a dominating defensive performance in Game
3 at United Center. However, that was only half the battle, as Boston
essentially needed to duplicate the same caliber of effort in Game 4 to ensure
that they could head back to TD Garden with a deadlocked series. Isaiah Thomas
and the defense were successfully able to generate an encore, with the star
point guard scoring a game-high 33 points and supplementing them with seven
assists, four rebounds and one steal, and Boston limiting the Bulls (2-2) to a
42.1 percent success rate from the field and 20.8 percent from three-point
range. Gerald Green drew another start — a move by coach Brad Stevens that’s
proven prudent thus far — and followed Thomas with 18 points and seven
rebounds. Al Horford posted a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double that also
included four assists, one steal and one block. Jae Crowder totaled 11 points,
two rebounds, one assist and two steals. Kelly Olynyk led the bench with 10
points, three rebounds, one steal and one block. Jimmy Butler matched Thomas
shot for shot, pouring in 33 points and adding nine assists, five rebounds and
one steal. Nikola Mirotic was a distant second with 13 points, seven rebounds,
one assist and one steal. Isaiah Canaan led the bench by matching Mirotic’s
scoring total and also providing three assists, two rebounds and two steals.
Dwyane Wade turned in 11 points, six boards, two assists, two blocks and one
steal. Robin Lopez supplied eight points, seven boards and one block. The series
now shifts back to Boston, where Game 5 will unfold on Wednesday night.