Bulls Game Notes For Thursday vs. Boston

He hit both, giving the Bulls a 104-103 victory. “He hit my elbow”. “That’s a bad call”, Thomas said.

And with the game on the line Butler made his free throws look anything but pressure-filled.

Boston’s Al Horford missed a fadeaway jumper as time expired.

“A foul is a foul”, he told reporters, according to the Chicago Tribune’s K.C. Johnson.

Once the final buzzer sounded, all of the attention was on Smart’s foul of Butler.

Thomas had 29 points to lead the Celtics (37-20), who saw their four-game win streak snapped. “A rollercoaster of emotions”. He is averaging 29.8 points per game, which is ranked third in the entire league with 1,554 points. He was named the 15th captain in team history.

And like they have done this season, the Celtics pulled away at home.

Rondo has played for Sacramento and now Chicago. If he did, that’s certainly a foul, regardless of how much time is left on the clock.

Boston pulled within two games of defending National Basketball Association champion Cleveland atop the East by finishing a 5-1 stretch against the West with three straight road wins, following what now looks like a puzzling 16-point loss in Sacramento.

Thomas and Smart combined for 23 points in the first quarter, but Ferrell had 13 at halftime to help Dallas get within three before Boston’s late surge. The cameras cut to Isaiah Thomas, who had a stunned look of disbelief on his face. Wade averaged 22.1 points over his past nine games.

Thomas added, “You see him raise his hand up like it was a foul; the Bulls were even shocked”.

Chicago led 81-78 starting the fourth quarter, but couldn’t hold the lead. Fortunately, Jimmy Butler rallied from his first quarter troubles to score ten points the rest of the way and bring his assist total up to five. The third-year guard scored 21 points Wednesday night, marking his second consecutive game of at least 18 points.

The Bulls have won two straight – against the Raptors and Celtics, no less – and have an impressive 9-8 record against the six teams ahead of them in the Eastern Conference. With Jimmy Butler hounding him on defense, Thomas beat the Bulls best player with an up-and-under move for a layup with 2:30 left for a 99-98 lead. It’s a streak that dates back to January 2013 and is so odd that Taj Gibson remarked the team is aware but didn’t want to discuss it earlier Thursday, so as not to jinx it. He has now missed 19 of the last 20 games.