Bulls roll in playoff clincher, will face Boston
Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson has probably been wrong a few times in his life.
He made a poor prediction before Wednesday's regular-season finale at the United Center.
"I do think this, I know the group we're going to send out there is going to compete," Atkinson said. "I'm looking at it like this is a great opportunity for our guys to compete. I hope they play great and we come out of here with a win. That's our mentality."
Brooklyn's young guys gave a slightly better effort than Orlando did on Monday, but the Bulls completed their playoff quest with ease, thumping the Nets 112-73. The Bulls beat the Magic by 47 points, making it the two biggest back-to-back blowouts in franchise history.
The victory clinched the No. 8 playoff seed and the Bulls will face the Boston Celtics in the first round, beginning Sunday at 5:30 Central time at TD Garden.
"I don't want to be going home right now," Jimmy Butler said. "These young guys get an opportunity to see what the playoffs are all about, how real it is - home, away. It's a challenge, but it's fun. This is why you play the game, to get here and win four games every series."
The last playoff series between the Bulls and Celtics in 2009 was one of the most memorable in NBA history, with Boston winning in seven games. The series included seven overtime periods over four games.
The last time the Bulls played in Boston, though, it didn't go well at all. The Bulls fell behind 13-0 at the start and scored a season-low 9 points in the first quarter on the way to a 20-point loss.
"Boston, they're the No. 1 seed for a reason," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Obviously, the last time we played there, it was a disaster the way we got off to a slow start. To compete with a team like that, you've got to get off to good starts."
But that was also sort of a turning point in the season. The next day, they added Rajon Rondo to the starting lineup and won in Charlotte, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Bulls went on to finish 9-4 over the last three weeks to hit 41-41 on the season.
"First game in Boston, one of the toughest places (to play)," Dwyane Wade said. "But once you've done that, once these guys play that first game, play the first five minutes, it ain't getting no harder than that. So you want the guys to get out there and get this experience of the first game. We're not putting too much pressure on them."
Rondo returned to the starting lineup after missing three games with a right wrist sprain. He logged 19 minutes, finishing with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
Wade pointed out how longtime Celtic Rondo will be facing his old team. Wade played against Rondo several times in playoff series when it was Boston vs. Miami.
"This time I have Rondo on my side instead of playing against him," Wade said. "We are going to lean on him a lot for his leadership. He is our starting point guard. He is going into a familiar place. He knows how important it is to play in this series.
The Nets (20-62) rested top scorers Brook Lopez and Jeremy Lin for this one. But considering the Bulls lost in Brooklyn on Saturday, the remaining lineup of Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Caris LeVert and ex-Bull Spencer Dinwiddie seemed dangerous enough.
There was no reason to worry. The Bulls rolled out to a 27-13 lead after one quarter and were never threatened. Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 25 points, while rookie Paul Zipser had a hot hand all game long and scored a career-high 21 points while hitting 5 of 7 shots from 3-point range.
The Bulls went 2-2 against the Celtics this season, with the home team winning all four games. Butler averaged 20.3 points and shot just 36 percent from the field against Boston. On the other side, Celtics star Isaiah Thomas shot well against the Bulls, averaging 24.8 points while shooting 54 percent.
The Bulls missed the playoffs last season, but have now made it 11 out of the last 13 years.
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Bulls first-round schedule versus Boston Celtics
Game 1
Sunday, April 16 Bulls at Boston 5:30 p.m., TNT
Game 2
Tuesday, April 18 Bulls at Boston 7 p.m., TNT
Game 3
Friday, April 21 Boston at Bulls 6 p.m., ESPN
Game 4
Friday, April 23 Boston at Bulls 5:30 p.m. TNT
Games 5-7: TBD, if necessary