This was no ordinary playoff game for Isaiah Thomas, nor was it for his teammates. On Saturday morning, Thomas’ 22-year-old sister Chyna passed away after being involved in a tragic automobile accident in Washington, Thomas’ home state.
Thomas, in a display of extraordinary mental toughness, chose to start in the game. Before tipoff, all of TD Garden participated in a moment of silence in Chyna’s honor:
Here's the moment of silence by the #Celtics for Chyna Thomas. pic.twitter.com/N15b88m9ml
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 16, 2017
Thomas received a loud ovation from the crowd:
Isaiah Thomas gets a loud ovation from the Boston #celtics fans.
Do the damn thing today, @Isaiah_Thomas.pic.twitter.com/wxTHxar1Xr
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 16, 2017
Chicago won the tipoff, and Jimmy Butler scored the first basket of the game.
Thomas, one of the NBA’s best free throw shooters, was fouled on the Celtics’ first possession. Amidst deafening “MVP” chants from the crowd, he uncharacteristically missed his first free throw, but then sunk the second to give the Celtics their first point of the game.
A few possessions later, Thomas made his first field goal of the game on a deep three-pointer to put the Celtics up 12-6, and the Garden exploded:
Isaiah Thomas sinks a deep 3. Do it, IT.#Celtics pic.twitter.com/3iurRGdDNa
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 16, 2017
At the end of the first quarter, the Celtics led 28-23. Thomas had scored a game-high 13 points on 4-7 shooting. Boston struggled to keep Robin Lopez off the boards; he had 10 points and six rebounds in the first quarter. Butler started slow, scoring five points on 1-5 shooting. The Bulls missed all nine of their first-quarter three-point attempts, while Boston connected on five of their 12.
The Bulls missed their first 11 three-point attempts of the game before Bobby Portis knocked one down at the 8:55 mark of the second quarter.
Al Horford knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to end the half, and the Bulls led 48-46. The Bulls outrebounded the Celtics 32-20 in the first half and won the offensive rebounding battle 16-9. Thomas scored a game-high 15 first-half points, while Horford was on pace for a triple-double, with 11 points, six rebounds and five assists.
After a back-and-forth third quarter, the game was tied at 74. Thomas led all scorers with 21 points and was a game-high plus-13. Butler led the Bulls with 15 points but was a minus-7. Robin Lopez had a game-high 10 rebounds to go with 12 points.
Bobby Portis had an impressive fourth quarter, connecting on both of his three-point tries and scoring eight points in the quarter. He finished the game with 19 points on 8-10 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds.
The Bulls picked up momentum as Jimmy Butler began to take control late on both ends of the floor. Butler hit tough shots and came up with a huge block from behind on Thomas in the fourth quarter. Thomas ended an 8-0 Chicago run with a tough layup with 3:47 remaining, but the Celtics were unable to consistently score or get stops. The Bulls, thanks largely to Butler and Portis’ late-game heroics, cruised to a comfortable lead.
Boston threatened to make a comeback after late three-pointers by Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas, a pair of crucial turnovers from Chicago, and this Thomas Layup:
Clutch bucket from Isaiah Thomas!#NBAplayoffs pic.twitter.com/K2UxBTMlzt
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 17, 2017
The Bulls were able to hold on, though, as Butler sunk two free throws to give the Bulls a four-point cushion with 3.3 seconds left. They upset the top-seeded Celtics 106-102.
Despite his slow start, Butler finished with a team-high 30 points and nine rebounds. Lopez finished with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Isaiah Thomas led all scorers with 33 points on 10-18 shooting, and also finished with six assists and five rebounds. Al Horford scored 19 points on 8-13 shooting and led his team in rebounds (seven) and assists (eight).
The Bulls won largely in part to their rebounding efforts (though the Celtics cleaned up their act on the glass in the second half). The Bulls won the rebounding battle 53-36.
Rebounding should be the Celtics’ main focus for the rest of the series. Game two will take place on Tuesday, April 18 at 8 p.m. ET. It will be broadcast on TNT.
