Boston Celtics defeat Chicago Bulls 104-87 in NBA playoffs

Dominican Al Horford finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, Isaiah Thomas contributed 16 points, and the Boston Celtics, leaders of the Eastern Conference, defeated the Bulls 104-87 in Chicago, after losing the first two games of their first-round series at home.

The Celtics came back from a 20-point deficit early in the third quarter and put themselves on the verge of tying a series that seemed to be slipping away. The fourth game will be played on Sunday in Chicago.

Dwyane Wade scored 18 points for Chicago. Jimmy Butler added 14, hitting 7 of 21 field goals, but the Bulls' offense struggled, with Rajon Rondo out indefinitely with a right thumb fracture. Chicago shot nearly 39% from the field and committed 18 turnovers.

"We're not going to blame Rondo's absence for all of this because he might not return," said Wade. "It seems like he's going to be out for a while. We need to come together as a team and figure out how to be better."

Thomas, grieving the death of his sister in a car accident last week, returned to the Celtics after being with his family in Tacoma, Washington. He scored 8 points in the third quarter to help his team regain control.

Jae Crowder added 16 points, and Avery Bradley scored 15, hitting four of Boston's 17 three-pointers.

"We didn't come expecting to get a win," Bradley said. "We knew we came here to win both games."

The Celtics' lead was reduced to 44-43 early in the third quarter when Thomas threw a pass to Horford for a dunk and then hit back-to-back three-pointers. Boston enjoyed a comfortable lead from there.

The Celtics were up by 18 after hitting 7 of 11 three-pointers in the first quarter and were leading 37-17 early in the second before the Bulls made a comeback.

Chicago got the crowd excited in the final minutes of the first half. Nikola Mirotic hit a three-pointer to bring the Bulls within 44-41. Wade then blocked Bradley's long-range attempt, resulting in a Boston violation with 4.7 seconds left in the half, before Butler missed a desperation three-pointer as the clock ran out.

"It's hard to keep a lead in this league," said Celtics coach Brad Stevens. "But also, when you go into halftime and they cut it to three, you know you got to rally and do it again. I think our guys really stayed the course."