Celtics Take Down Bulls 104-87 in Game 3 Road Win, Trail 2-1 in Series

The Boston Celtics are on the board. 

After dropping the first two games of their first-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls, the Celtics responded Friday night with a 104-87 Game 3 win at United Center to avoid falling into a crippling 3-0 hole against the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed.  

Player	PTS	FGM/FGA	3PM/3PA	REB	AST	STL	+/-
Isaiah Thomas	16	7/18	2/7	2	9	1	+2
Al Horford	18	8/14	2/3	8	6	4	+11
Avery Bradley	15	5/10	4/6	7	7	2	+22
Jae Crowder	16	6/15	2/7	6	3	1	+23

Isaiah Thomas did the heavy lifting as a scorer (16 points) and distributor (nine assists), and his determination to knife through the Bulls defense in the third quarter stabilized a Celtics offense that sputtered to the tune of 11 second-quarter points and coughed up what was an 18-point lead at the end of the first quarter. 

CBS Sports' Matt Moore pointed to Thomas' vision as a major reason the Celtics—who assisted on 34 of 41 made shots as a team—had more rhythm: 

Thomas' favorite target Friday night was Al Horford, who stuffed the stat sheet with 18 points, eight boards, six dimes and four steals. He also frequently served as a human exclamation point as he capped off Thomas' slick feeds with emphatic finishes at the rim, as the Celtics' official Twitter account documented: 

The other big key for the Celtics revolved around long-range efficiency. After scorching the Bulls with seven threes during a 33-point first quarter, as NBA TV showed on Twitter, they finished the night with 17 total: 

That number especially stood out because the Bulls made just six threes as a team. 

Of course, the offense was due for some regression after Rajon Rondo was ruled out indefinitely with a fractured right thumb Friday morning, as ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg noted: 

Jimmy Butler, in particular, suffered from Rondo's absence, according to CSN Chicago's Vincent Goodwill:

Without a reliable floor general, Butler scored 14 points on 7-of-21 shooting. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade managed 18 points on 18 shots.  

As far as the replacement point guards were concerned, Michael Carter-Williams and Jerian Grant combined for seven turnovers and three assists as they struggled to fend off Boston's pesky perimeter defenders. 

Looking ahead, head coach Fred Hoiberg may consider not playing a conventional point guard and letting Butler and Wade orchestrate the bulk of his team's actions.

Game 4 is scheduled for Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET, TNT) at United Center.