The NBA season started for the Chicago Bulls last night and they got a 105-99 win over the Boston Celtics. This is a good win for the new look Bulls to start the season with. The Celtics are predicted to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference while the Bulls are predicted in most cases to miss the playoffs. Of course it’s just the first game of the season; so don’t buy those Bulls playoff tickets just yet, but it’s still better to start with a won than a loss.
The Bulls came out with a solid 30 point 1st quarter and took a 10 point lead 30-20 going into the 2nd quarter. It took the Celtics some time, but they started to chip away at the lead. Boston was able to knock a couple of points off the Bulls lead by outscoring them 29-27 in the 2nd quarter. On the plus side the Bulls where still up 8 points headed into halftime 57-49. The Celtics knocked a couple of more points off the Bulls lead in the 3rd quarter, but again it was just 2 points as they outscored the Bulls 24-22. That gave the Bulls a 79-73 lead heading into the final quarter. It looked as though the Bulls would cruise to a victory as the stretched their lead to 14 points (95-81) in the middle of the 4th quarter. Of course it’s never that easy in the NBA as every team seems to have a run in them and Boston had there’s as they scored 11 straight points to make it a 95-92 game. The teams traded buckets to make it a 101-99 game. Then with about 30 seconds left in the game the Celtics committed a turnover and Dwayne Wade nailed a 3-pointer to give the Bulls a 5-point lead and seal the victory.
Jimmy Butler played a team high 37 minutes and led the Bulls in scoring with 24 points. Butler made 4 of the 6 3-point shots he took in the game. Wade also made 4 of the 6 3-pointers he took and ended the night with 22 points. In a starting role Taj Gibson put up 18 points and grabbed a game high 10 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic came off the Bulls bench to add 15 points. Like Wade Rajon Rondo was making his Bulls debut and he handed out a game high 9 assists against his former team.
Boston’s Isaiah Thomas was the game’s leading scorer with 25 points. Avery Bradley played a game high 41 minutes and scored 16 points for the Celtics. Jae Crowder chipped in 14 points and got into a heated exchange with Butler in the 4th quarter, Interestingly Crowder and Butler where college teammates at Marquette. Al Horford was Boston’s big off season signing and he scored 11 points and grabbed a team high 7 rebounds in his debut with the team. Horford also tied with Bradley for the team lead in assists with 5 of them.
The 1-0 Bulls host the 1-0 Indiana Pacers on Saturday night while the 1-1 Celtics stay on the road as they take on the 1-0 Charlotte Hornets also on Saturday night.
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