Celtics won this one on instinct
Because ABC wanted a game for its 1 p.m. Sunday window, the Celtics and Wizards were thrown into their Eastern Conference semifinal series just 36 hours after completing their first-round series.
So Game 1 at TD Garden involved more instinct than preparation. The Celtics had every excuse to give this one away: fatigue, Isaiah Thomas’s travel schedule toattend his sister’s funeral, which included a 4 a.m. return to Boston on Sunday, and coming down from an emotional and taxing series against the Bulls.
The Celtics took awhile to actually show up for their Sunday appointment, falling behind, 16-0, and 22-5 before putting together as impressive a three quarters as they have produced all season on their way to a 123-111 win.
There were times during the Chicago series when the Celtics looked nothing like a No. 1 seed, especially in the first two games. They suffered mental lapses, looked slow on defense, and were passive offensively.
Read the complete story at BostonGlobe.com.
Don’t have a Globe subscription? Boston.com readers get a 2-week free trial.
