BOSTON — The Boston Celtics, who have all kinds of trouble winning close games, blew most of a 16-point third-quarter lead but held on for a 110-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.
The Bulls, losers of six of their last eight, rode swingman Jimmy Butler, guard Derrick Rose and center Pau Gasol through a comeback that saw the the Celtics’ lead cut to one with 4:58 remaining after an 8-0 Chicago run.
But Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas, being pushed by his team for a spot on the Eastern Conference All-Star team, scored on two tough drives around a layup by forward Jared Sullinger as Chicago (24-18) went silent at the other end. Boston guard Avery Bradley completed an 8-0 run to lift the lead back to nine with 1:57 left.
Thomas, who finished with 22 points and five assists, fed Sullinger for the clincher as the Celtics, who are 4-9 this season in games decided by five points or less, ended a two-game losing streak (one in overtime) and improved to 23-21.
Bradley scored 21 points and Sullinger had 18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Forward Kelly Olynyk finished with 12 points and nine boards.
Center Tyler Zeller, getting more playing time with forward Amir Johnson absent for personal reasons, gave the Celtics seven points, including five in the fourth quarter, and four rebounds in 15:34. Guard Evan Turner added 10 points, five rebounds and five assists off the bench.
Butler led the Bulls with 28 points and 14 rebounds, Rose, starting to look a bit more like the Derrick Rose of old, scored 16 of his 27 points in the third quarter and had seven rebounds. Gasol added 18 points and 11 rebounds, one game after going 0 of 8 from the floor and scoring one point. He was also guilty of five of Chicago’s 20 turnovers.
Boston only turned the ball over 12 times and went 8 of 23 from 3-point range while beating the Bulls for the second time in three meetings this season.
The Celtics led 18-17 when they reeled off nine straight points and finished the first quarter on a 16-6 run for an 11-point lead. The lead was 13 when the Bulls ran off nine in a row and the visitors trailed by three when Boston went on a 15-2 burst to open it up to 16.
The lead was 15 at halftime, with the Celtics going 6 of 13 from 3-point range and turning the ball over just five times in the first half. The Bulls were guilty of 13 turnovers in the first 24 minutes.
NOTES: Boston’s Saturday night game in Philadelphia was switched to Sunday night because of the Atlantic snowstorm. The Celtics had planned to fly out after Friday night’s game. … F Amir Johnson was out of the Boston lineup for personal reasons, and the hope is he will rejoin the team in Philadelphia. … Celtics coach Brad Stevens said he was “surprised” by the firing of David Blatt by the Cleveland Cavaliers, saying, “I would think he’s not going to be unemployed long. He’s a heck of a coach.” Said Chicago rookie coach Fred Hoiberg: “Last year at Iowa State he welcomed me to his training camp and went there, sat in his office, talked to me, gave me film on a bunch of stuff. Just a really good person. I think (he is) a hell of a basketball coach. It’s a tough day. He was great to me when I got into this league. It’s tough news.” … The Bulls are in Cleveland for the head coaching debut of Tyronn Lue on Saturday night.
Clippers 116, Knicks 88
NEW YORK — The Los Angeles Clippers defeated the New York Knicks for the seventh straight time, 116-88, Friday at Madison Square Garden.
It’s the most consecutive wins for any team against the Knicks (22-23) and their largest margin of defeat this season.
DeAndre Jordan topped the Clippers (28-15) with 20 points, but his league-leading double-double streak ended at 11 straight games as he hauled in eight rebounds.
With Los Angeles comfortably ahead in the fourth quarter, Jordan and guard Chris Paul (16 points, 13 assists) watched from the bench.
Carmelo Anthony topped the Knicks with 16 points. New York’s home winning streak ended at six games.
Los Angeles dominated from the perimeter, shooting 56 percent from 3-point range.
Paul dominated the third quarter with 13 points to help Los Angeles to an 86-64 cushion.
The Clippers used a 16-3 burst to build a 71-53 lead with 3:51 left in the third. Jordan netted six points in the run. One of the poorer free-throw shooters in the league, he made 4-of-4 from the line in the sequence.
Knicks center Robin Lopez was ejected for getting into an altercation with Jordan at the 6:01 mark of the third quarter and the Clippers holding a 64-52 lead. It was the first time a Knicks player was thrown out of a game this season.
Jordan scored 12 points, 10 on dunks, and Paul distributed 11 of the Clippers’ 18 assists to provide Los Angeles with a 55-45 halftime lead.
New York got to within 49-41 at the 2:13 mark, but 3-pointers from Redick and Pierce pushed the Clippers lead to 55-41.
The Clippers shot a sizzling 56 percent (9-of-16) from beyond the arc in the first half.
Anthony scored 13 points in the half, but the Knicks were plagued by 11 turnovers.
Johnson came off the bench to quickly deliver nine points, all on 3-pointers, in a span of six minutes to help the Clippers build a 31-24 first-quarter lead.
Los Angeles shot 57 percent from the floor in the first quarter.