By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Al Horford had 18 points and eight rebounds, Isaiah Thomas scored 16 points, and the top-seeded Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls 104-87 after dropping the first two games of their opening-round series at home.
Dwyane Wade scored 18 for Chicago. Jimmy Butler had 14 points on 7-of-21 shooting, and the offense simply didn’t click the way it had been, with Rajon Rondo out indefinitely with a broken right thumb. Sweden’s Jonas Jerebko added 6 points for the winners, while Spaniard Nikola Mirotic scored 11 for the Bulls, German Paul Zipser added 10 and French Joffrey Lauvergne dishing 2 assists.
In the West, Rusell Westbrook scored 32 points in a triple-double and the Thunder held off the Rockets 115-113 to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the first-round series. James Harden scored 44 points for Houston, but he missed a 3-pointer that could have won the game just before time expired. Turk Enes Kanter added 10 points and Spaniard Alex Abrines 8 for the winners, while Swiss Clint Capela had 5 points for Houston.
Chris Paul scored a season-high 34 points and the Los Angeles Clippers rallied for a 111-106 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Jazz’s French center Rudy Gobert did not play again due to a hyperextended left knee and bone contusion suffered 17 seconds into the series opener. Derrick Favors started at center and French Boris Diaw opened at power forward having 3 points and 2 steals. Gordon Hayward scored 40 points but it was not enough for the Jazz.