Butler's Free Throws Lead Bulls To Victory

By ESPN

Jimmy Butler and Isaiah Thomas should have plenty to talk about when they see each other in New Orleans this weekend.

Butler made two free throws with 0.9 seconds left, sending the Chicago Bulls to a 104-103 victory over Thomas and the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Butler's clutch foul shots capped a memorable duel with fellow All-Star Thomas in the NBA's final game before the break. Butler and Thomas both finished with 29 points and seven assists.

Butler was touched on the right elbow by Marcus Smart on a turnaround jumper as the horn sounded, drawing a foul. Butler calmly patted his elbow and then walked toward the line while an incredulous Smart danced up the court in disbelief.

"He got a piece of the elbow," Butler said. "People are going to say `Aw, he didn't foul him,' but he did. So at the end of the day they made the right call."

Said Thomas: "That's horrible when it costs you a game you should have won. That's a bad call."

After Butler's free throws, Al Horford air-balled a baseline jumper on the Celtics' last shot, giving Chicago (28-29) consecutive wins against Eastern Conference powers Toronto and Boston (37-20).

"I'm excited about these two wins over two very good teams," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Hopefully, we can build off of these coming back off the break."

Bobby Portis had a season-high 19 points for the Bulls, who went 22 for 22 at the line. Robin Lopez had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Taj Gibson finished with 12 points and nine boards.

"It's big for us. It's going to propel us to the second half of the season, which our team really needs," Portis said.

Thomas went 8 for 18 from the field in his 41st straight game with at least 20 points, breaking the team record set by John Havlicek during the 1971-72 season. He made two free throws with 1:30 left to make it 103-100, but he was blocked by Butler on a layup attempt and missed a jumper down the stretch.

Boston also was outrebounded 51-31, leading to a 22-4 deficit in second-chance points.

"They were bigger than us at almost every position and then we didn't do a good job running down balls. So rebounding was an issue," coach Brad Stevens said.

Kelly Olynyk had 17 points and seven boards for the Celtics, who had won four in a row and 11 of 12. Terry Rozier made three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.

The Bulls played without guard Dwyane Wade and forward Paul Zipser due to injuries. Wade has been hampered by a bruised right wrist, and woke up Thursday with an illness. Zipser is dealing with left ankle tendinitis.

The break will give the 35-year-old Wade a couple weeks of rest between games.

"It'll be two full weeks since he had the wrist injury, so again, hopefully we'll get him back full strength when we return," Hoiberg said.

Avery Bradley remained out for Boston, and rookie forward Jaylen Brown missed his third straight game with a right hip strain. Bradley, who is averaging 17.7 points, hasn't played in a month because of a sore right Achilles.

Wizards 111, Pacers 98

If the Wizards come back from the All-Star break without missing a beat, the nation's eyes will soon be glued to Washington, D.C.

Something special is happening in our nation's capital -- the Wizards are just five games behind the defending champion, first-place Cleveland Cavaliers, and they are playing some of the best basketball in the NBA over the past six weeks.

"I've never been this close to winning this many games in my career," guard John Wall said. "Even after a bad start (to the season) -- we had an opportunity and had a lot of home games and took advantage of that. We're a team that's playing with a lot of confidence and playing (well) on both ends of the floor."

Wall scored 20 points and added 12 assists, Otto Porter Jr. made six 3-pointers, finished with 25 points and eight rebounds, and the Wizards won their fourth straight, 111-98 over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday night.

Washington (34-21) is 18-5 since the beginning of January. On Thursday night, the Wizards scored 100 points for the 22nd consecutive game.

Markieff Morris scored 21 points and Bradley Beal finished with 19, as each of the Wizards' starters finished in double digits in scoring. Washington's starters outscored Indiana's 97-59, highlighting the lone takeaway from the Pacers' performance on Thursday night -- Indiana should be thankful its bench came to play. If not for the Pacers' reserves tallying 39 points, the game would have been even more ugly for Indiana, which is currently in the midst of a six-game losing streak -- the longest skid of the season for the Pacers.

Washington's performance couldn't have been any more dominant. The Wizards' first three baskets were 3-pointers, and they ended the game having tied a team-high for 3-pointers made in a game with 15. Washington jumped out to a 14-4 lead that forced Indiana to call a timeout. The Pacers turned the ball over eight times in the first half, resulting in 15 points for the Wizards, who would lead the entire game and by as many as 19 points.

Despite Indiana creeping back into the game in the fourth quarter, cutting the Wizards' lead to seven points, the Pacers never truly threatened. Myles Turner finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for Indiana. Paul George scored 17 points, and Jeff Teague had six points, six rebounds and five assists for Indiana (29-28).

The Pacers will return from the All-Star break and face three of the Western Conference's top six teams in their first four games back, facing Memphis at home and then Houston and San Antonio on the road after a trip to Miami. After a seven-game winning streak was snapped by the Cavaliers on Feb. 8, the Pacers have looked incompetent at times.

"We keep showing them things we need to do to commit. We see it on tape and talk about the mindset we need to change," Pacers coach Nate McMillan said. "It's got to hurt when you lose a game. It's not acceptable to let it roll off your shoulders. Tonight's loss, we looked a little flat."

Washington, on the other hand, is surging. The Wizards will have a similar test when they return from the All-Star break. After they face the 76ers, the Wizards will play the Jazz and the Warriors -- both Western Conference playoff teams -- before a home-and-home with the Eastern Conference's fourth-place Toronto Raptors at the beginning of March.

"We knew we had to come (to Indiana) and play a good basketball game and we did," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said. "We wanted to finish this first half strong and now it's time to enjoy the break, come back recharged and get ready for the second half of the season."

Thursday, February 16 Scoreboard

Washington 111, Indiana 98

Chicago 104,  Boston 103

Friday, February 17 Schedule (All Times Central)

No games scheduled

Saturday, February 18 Schedule (All Times Central)

No games scheduled

Sunday, February 19 Schedule (All Times Central)

Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference, 7 p.m.