The Boston Celtics battled all season to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers and finish with the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed. Then they lost their corresponding home-court advantage in the first playoff series in one game.The Chicago Bulls went on the road to TD Garden on Sunday and stole Game 1 in a 106-102 victory.Jimmy Butler led the way for the No. 8 seed with 30 points and nine rebounds, but he received critical help from a number of supporting actors:As for Boston, an emotional Isaiah Thomas spearheaded the home team's effort with 33 points, six assists and five rebounds, but it ultimately wasn't enougheven though his team cut a seven-point deficit to two with less than 20 seconds remaining before Butler's two free throws iced it.Butler and the Bigs Outshine Celtics' Big ThreeAvery Bradley played suffocating defense on Butler at times, but the Bulls star woke up down the stretch in the third quarter and carried his team to victory in the fourth. He also guarded Thomas on multiple possessions in crunch time, demonstrating his ability to impact the game on both ends.It wasn't Dwyane Wade but the big-man combination of Robin Lopez and Bobby Portis that provided the most support for Butler. Lopez notched a double-double and set the tone on the boards from the opening quarter, while Portis was the team's second-leading scorer at 19 points.Portis also hit multiple clutch shots and picked up the slack for Nikola Mirotic (1-of-9 from the field), as Bulls Talk noted:Elsewhere, Wade didn't resemble a future Hall of Famer with 11 points on 4-of-12 from the field. He also had an embarrassing moment, which caught his wife Gabrielle Union's attention:Even with Wade's struggles, Butler, Lopez and Portis counterbalanced the effort from Thomas, Al Horford (19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds) and Bradley (14 points and three steals).Isaiah Thomas Impresses Through TragedyThomas' sister was killed in a single-car accident Saturday morning, per Craig Sailor of the News Tribune, and he was emotional from before the opening tip:He responded in admirable fashion and poured in 13 first-quarter points to stake his team to a five-point advantage.The crowd was fully behind him, as Bill Simmons of The Ringer and Celtics Blog indicated:Still, the Celtics had trouble scoring without him when he was on the bench for stretches. He did create some much-needed offense in the second half when he sliced his way through Chicago's defense on multiple occasions, but Butler slowed him in the waning moments. Celtics' Weakness Proves More Dire Than Chicago'sThe Celtics finished 27th in the league inrebounds per gamethis season, while the Bulls were third. The difference was on full display Sunday.Chicago finished with 53 rebounds to Boston's 36, and 20 of them came on the offensive end. The Celtics couldn't handle Lopez especially, as the Stanford product posted eight offensive boards.Chris Herring of FiveThirtyEight weighed in on Chicago's dominance on the glass:It also helped the Bulls overcome their glaring weakness from behind the three-point line. They were a mere24th in theleaguein three-point percentage this season and shot 8-of-25 from deep Sunday.Still, the poor shooting ultimately didn't cost the visitors thanks largely to Boston's inability to rebound.What's Next'Game 2 is Tuesday in Boston.The Bulls now have home-court advantage regardless of what happens in the next contest and will look to seize full control of the series. Boston needs to defend its home court in Game 2 to avoid a disastrous start to the postseason.
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