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| Michael Dwyer/AP |
By Ivan Saldajeno
MANILA--A day after finding out about his sister's death, Isaiah Thomas decided to suit up and gave a seemingly inspired performance for Boston.
Chicago, however, has other plans.
The eighth-seeded Bulls pulled the upset ax on the top-seeded Celtics, 106-102, at the start of their NBA playoff series at the TD Garden in Boston on Monday (Philippine Time).
Chicago used a huge 14-4 run to take a 101-92 lead with 1:18 left.
Boston still threatened, answering with a 10-3 run of its own to cut the lead to two, 104-102, with 7.5 seconds remaining.
Jimmy Butler, however, iced the game with two charities with 3.3 seconds left for the final outcome.
Butler had 30 points, nine rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block, while Bobby Portis came off the bench to chip in 19 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks for the Bulls, who stole homecourt edge from the Celtics.
Thomas fired 33 markers with five rebounds, six dimes, and one steal for the Celtics, but he also committed six turnovers.
Portland 109 Golden State 121
In Oakland, the other number one seed in the postseason, Golden State, broke away in the fourth quarter to upend Portland, 121-109.
The Warriors started the payoff period on a 15-2 run to break an 88-all tie after three quarters and go up, 103-90.
The Trail Blazers came to within six, 99-105, but the Warriors answered with a 16-6 blast to pull away for good.
Kevin Durant dropped 32 points in his first postseason game with Golden State along with 10 rebounds, two assists, and one block.
Steph Curry added 29 points, five rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block, while Draymond Green chipped in 19 points, 12 rebounds, nine assists, five blocks, and three steals.
CJ McCollum fired 41 markers, while Dame Lillard contributed 34 for Portland.
Oklahoma City 88 Houston 117
In the first playoff match-up between the top two MVP contenders, James Harden's Rockets prevailed over Russell Westbrook's Thunder, 117-88, in Houston.
Houston tallied back-to-back 30-point quarters in the second and the third frames while limiting Oklahoma City to only 13 in the final quarter.
Harden finished with 37 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, and three steals, while Westbrook had 22 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and two steals.
Atlanta 107 Washington 114
In Washington, the Wizards used a 38-point third quarter to help hold off the Atlanta Hawks, 114-107.
John Wall took charge for Washington with 32 points and 14 assists with four rebounds and one block, while Bradley Beal and Markieff Morris tallied 22 and 21 markers respectively.
Dennis Schroder had 25 points, three rebounds, nine assists, and one steal for Atlanta.
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