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Keys to the Game: Celtics 104, Bulls 95

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Key Moment

Basketball is a game of runs, and Sunday night’s Game 4 matchup between the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls was no exception.

Boston built up a 20-point lead in the first half. Chicago battled back in the third quarter and grabbed a two-point advantage. The Celtics responded with a 12-0 stretch during the final few minutes of the third frame.

Neither team could find consistency and it appeared as if the hot and cold battle would never come to an end.

Boston, however, found a way to get hot – and stay hot – in the fourth quarter, and eventually managed to outlast Chicago, 104-95.

The Bulls were down 79-70 entire the fourth and were able to put six quick points up on the board during the first minute and a half of the frame. They were gathering momentum and looked as if they were about to start up another run on Boston, but then Brad Stevens checked Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford into the game at the 10:10 mark to clean things up for the C’s.

Thomas immediately made an impact as he hit a driving, and-one bank shot, followed by a layup on Boston’s next offensive possession. A minute and a half later, Horford began to make a mark as he canned a 3-pointer and then cut in for an and-one dunk that put Boston ahead 92- 80.

Horford was dominant during the final frame, tallying nine points and six rebounds. Thomas chipped in with seven points of his own during the last 10 minutes of the game.

Chicago, meanwhile, could not muster another run down the stretch. The combined presence of Horford and Thomas proved to be too much, as the Celtics outscored the Bulls 23-16 during the fourth quarter when those two were on the court together.

Key Player

Chicago stole the momentum from Boston during the third quarter, but Isaiah Thomas seized it right back.

After the Celtics allowed the Bulls to battle back from a 20-point deficit and take a two-point lead, Thomas went into takeover mode on the offensive end.

He tallied 17 points and five assists during the final 17 minutes. That’s 27 points he created during the final quarter and a half.

In all, Thomas finished with a game-high-tying 33 points on 10-of-21 shooting from the field and 12-of-13 shooting from the free throw line. He also dished out a team-best seven assists and corralled four rebounds.

Box Score Nuggets

  • Isaiah Thomas and Jimmy Butler tied for the game high in points with 33 apiece.
  • Those two also led their respective teams in assists, with Butler dishing out nine and Thomas dishing out seven.
  • Gerald Green made 4 3-pointers, which was just one fewer than Chicago tallied as a team.
  • Green, who finished with 18 points, was the only Celtic that made more than one 3-pointer.
  • Jimmy Butler took 23 of Chicago's 33 free throw attempts. He made 19 of them.
  • Chicago turned the ball over just 12 times, while the Celtics coughed up the rock only 13 times.
  • Al Horford tallied the game's only double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
  • Chicago had the edge in rebounding, 44-41.
  • Six of Robin Lopez' seven rebounds came on the offensive end.
  • Thomas finished with a game-best plus/minus rating of plus-17.

Quote of the Night

Isaiah Thomas, after creating 27 points during the last 17 minutes of Game 4