NBA playoff scores 2017: The Celtics avoided the 3-0 hole by swatting the Bulls

We will have no 3-0 leads coming from Friday’s games, with both teams who trailed by two games picking up a win. First came Boston, who shifted Gerald Green into the starting five and found their offense once again. It was a panic move, because anything happens in a panic when a top seed goes down two games to none against the No. 8 team. But Green scored eight points, and it reinvigorated the Celtics enough for the win.

It’s not quite the same situation, but the Thunder also won Game 3 to prevent that just about insurmountable 3-0 deficit. James Harden dropped 44 points in the loss, amazingly.

Finally, the Jazz and the Clippers provided us another thrilling ending and game in general, really turning this entire series into a much watch. Here’s a breakdown for each one.

Butler will sometimes play a poor game, but unfortunately when it happens in the playoffs, the Bulls will lose. Here’s specifically how his poor evening dropped Chicago from having a chance against Boston on Friday.

After two games of being the best player on the floor, Jimmy Butler was not that in Game 3. The Chicago star played one of his worst playoff games ever, and that was enough to determine the outcome against the Boston Celtics.

Butler’s 14 points on 7-of-21 shooting and game-worst minus-27 might undersell just how good he was for Chicago’s first two games, where the Bulls took a surprising two game lead over the Eastern Conference’s top seed. It was the first time a No. 1 seed dropped the first two games to a No. 8 seed since 1993, but in that series, the Phoenix Suns actually ending up moving on, beating the Los Angeles Lakers. Boston is hoping to do the same, and its 104-87 win on Friday put the Celtics closer to that goal.

There’s a number of subplots you can point to, and Rajon Rondo’s absence was no doubt a big one. But the Bulls live and die with Butler, and the absence of his normal impact swung the game. After eight assists in Game 2, he recorded none in Game 3. Chicago’s offense languished overall.

Butler can bounce back, and Sunday’s second game in Chicago seems like a perfect time to do just that. But if he doesn’t, the outcome may fall apart like this.

This is the what we were waiting for this entire time in the Rockets-Thunder series. Game 1 was fine, and Game 2 gave us things to talk about, but Game 3 was thrills from front to end. Oklahoma City led most of Game 3 on Friday, but Houston kept eating into the deficit over and over again. With less than a minute left, James Harden tied the game. On the next possession, Steven Adams tipped in a Westbrook shot that ended up giving them the decisive advantage.

The game swayed back and forth between players shooting free throws, and a couple crucial Westbrook misses gave us all the drama we needed. It ended on a missed Harden three right here, which could have ended the game and the Thunder’s playoff hopes had it splashed in.

Put Russell Westbrook and James Harden duking it out continuously at this level, and I could watch it for days.

Chris Paul is the world’s smallest bully. The Jazz found that out the hard way on Friday night as the Clippers’ veteran point guard powered a second half comeback to give Los Angeles a 111-106 win in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Paul has been in takeover mode late in games all series. That trend continued in Game 3. Paul scored 24 of his team-high 34 points in the second half to rally the Clippers back from a nine-point halftime deficit.

Paul wasn’t just scoring efficiently — he shot 12-of-22 from the field — he also added 10 assists and seven rebounds. He was in complete command late in the game, making plays for himself and others.

You can keep reading that story here.

That OKC fan who said “Suck it up,” at LeBron? SHE’S BACK!

Rajon Rondo apparently tried to trip someone.

Toe injury for Blake Griffin

Very good.

Celtics 104, Bulls 87 (Celtics Blog recap | Blog a Bull recap)

Thunder 115, Rockets 113 (Welcome to Loud City recap | The Dream Shake recap)

Clippers 111, Jazz 106 (Clips Nation recap | SLC Dunk recap)