The Associated Press
BOSTON–The Chicago Bulls waited until the final night of the regular season to cement their spot in the post-season.
Jimmy Butler made sure the wait for a playoff victory was a short one.
Butler had 30 points and nine rebounds as the Bulls outlasted top-seeded Boston 106-102 in Game 1 yesterday on an emotional night for grieving Celtics’ star Isaiah Thomas.
Playing a day after 22-year-old sister Chyna Thomas was killed in a car accident in their home state of Washington, Thomas led the Celtics with 33 points.
But Butler overcame a united Garden crowd and led Chicago to the victory, scoring 23 points in the second half.
“We were so locked in all week,” Butler noted. “We knew their stuff, just like they knew ours.
“But we executed extremely well,” he added.
“We haven’t done that all season but this is the right time to do it.”
He also got a big lift from the Bulls’ young reserves, who outscored their Boston counterparts 35-22.
Bobby Portis finished with 19 for the Bulls.
Bulls’ coach Fred Hoiberg lauded his team’s defensive effort, particularly how they out-rebounded Boston 53-36.
He also had praise for the job Butler did defending Thomas late after Rajon Rondo picked up his fifth foul.
“Jimmy is obviously our best defender,” Hoiberg noted. “Jimmy is going to have his turn to guard him.”
Rondo said they wanted to be aggressive.
“I told the guys coming out it was going to be physical and we wanted to throw the first punch,” he remarked.
Al Horford had 19 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds for the Celtics.
He was active throughout, coming up with several big baskets and assists to keep his team in the game.
Game 2 in the first-round series goes tomorrow night in Boston.
Elsewhere in the NBA playoffs, Washington beat Atlanta 114-107, Golden State dumped Portland 121-109, and Houston bombed Oklahoma City 118-87 to all grab 1-0 leads in their respective series.
