CHICAGO — Before the Boston Celticsregained some confidence, they heard from a familiar voice.
Kevin Garnett, a key member of the Celtics’ championship team in 2008, has kept busy since he retired from the N.B.A. at the end of last season. He hosts a television talk show. He works with various teams as a sort of independent adviser/big-man coach. And he offers unsolicited pep talks.
Garnett seized the opportunity to deliver one such talk after watching the Celtics lose the first two games of their first-round playoff series against the Chicago Bulls. He reached out to Ed Lacerte, the Celtics’ longtime trainer, and left him a message. Lacerte shared it with Avery Bradley, who shared it with Isaiah Thomas, who shared it with the rest of the team before Game 3 on Friday night.
“We played it very loud,” the Celtics’ Jae Crowder said. “You can only imagine how he got us pumped up.”
More than anything, Crowder said, Garnett wanted the team to play with more joy — no easy thing after such a difficult week. But the message resonated with the top-seeded Celtics, whose 104-87 victory at the United Center was sorely needed. The Bulls still have a two-games-to-one lead in the best-of-seven series, which will resume here Sunday evening. But all their momentum is gone — undercut by the absence of Rajon Rondo, their starting point guard, and by a resurgent opponent, which turned to an effective small-ball lineup in Game 3.
“It made us more versatile,” the Celtics’ Al Horford said.
So many things that seemed to affect Friday’s game happened before it even began. Sure, there was Garnett’s colorful message, which the Celtics cited as a factor in their improved play. More significant was the Bulls’ surprise announcement that Rondo, after playing so well in the first two games of the series, had fractured his right thumb in Game 2 and would be out indefinitely.
Wearing a cast and a short-sleeve blazer, Rondo watched Friday’s proceedings from the bench. Without him, the Bulls lacked any semblance of organization. Jimmy Butler labored for open looks, clanging his way to a 7-of-21 shooting night. Jerian Grant and Michael Carter-Williams, Rondo’s overmatched fill-ins, combined for 8 points, 3 assists and 7 turnovers.
Rondo said he would try to help his younger teammates without being overbearing. As for his potential return, he said the doctors had told him that it would be a couple of weeks.
“I can’t even pick up a ball right now,” he said. “I can’t even use a fork or use my thumb. I’ll take a couple of days and see how it feels.”
This, of course, is problematic for the Bulls, just when they seemed to be assembling the jagged pieces of their season. They barely qualified for the playoffs, and then, as the eighth seed, took the first two games from the host Celtics. Chicago was buzzing. But the Bulls could not compensate for Rondo’s absence in Game 3, and the Celtics knew it.
“They’re a totally different team,” Crowder said.
Boston had 34 assists on 41 field goals — a reflection, in part, of Coach Brad Stevens’s decision to switch up his starting lineup. He summoned Gerald Green, a swingman and a solid outside shooter, from the deep recesses of his bench to replace Amir Johnson, who typically starts at center.
With four players stationed on the perimeter, the Celtics stretched the Bulls’ defenders like rubber bands. And without Johnson clogging up the lane, Horford — the Celtics’ lone post player for long stretches — had more room to roll to the basket for layups and dunks. He finished with 18 points.
“It starts with Isaiah,” Bradley said. “He’s such a tough guard. Once he gets into the defense and kicks it out, and we’re making the next pass and the next pass and the next pass — everyone’s touching the ball. That’s fun basketball. Everyone’s playing with confidence. Everyone understands that they can take whatever shots come their way.”
Thomas is playing through grief. He has not spoken publicly since the death of his younger sister in a car accident last week. After playing in the first two games of the series, he returned home to the Seattle area to spend time with his family. He rejoined his teammates in Chicago ahead of Game 3.
“He’s still hurting,” Stevens said. “We have to maintain the perspective that there’s going to be some real ups and downs, and that’s just part of it. We’re here to support him, and we’re going to do our jobs and play and coach basketball. But we understand that there is a bigger picture and we are here as his support network that’s in Boston.”
Thomas has somehow managed to compartmentalize his emotions. On Friday, he was at his best in third quarter. He sank back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 9. Later, sensing pressure on the perimeter, he cut through traffic for a reverse layup before finding Horford for layups on consecutive possessions.
“The amount of attention they put on Isaiah is huge,” the Celtics’ Kelly Olynyk said. “If they’re going to double him coming off picks, somebody’s going to be open. We just have to be ready.”
Terry Rozier, a reserve guard for the Celtics, said he could sense at practice before Game 3 that the team was struggling. It was understandable.
“It seemed like everybody was still down,” he said. “We tried to get guys to tell jokes, just to lighten up a little bit.”
On Friday, with an assist from Garnett, the mood finally lifted. Now, the Celtics are just trying to move forward.
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