BOSTON _ All teams take two buses from the team hotel to arenas, which typically leave 30 minutes apart.
More often than not, rookies and players who aren't getting much playing time go on the first bus for extra pregame work while veterans ride in the second bus.
Tuesday night, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler rode the first bus.
You might say the Bulls couldn't wait to implement their greedy approach to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. After Sunday's decisive victory, they smelled blood.
Becoming the second No. 8 seed in NBA history to win the first two games of a playoff series, blood is in the water as the series shifts to the United Center for Friday's Game 3. See Red, indeed.
The Bulls are in the Celtics' heads _ and bodies _ after a 111-97 victory at TD Garden as they vie to become just the sixth No. 8 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed since the NBA expanded to 16-team playoffs in 1984.
"We're like this," Jimmy Butler said, balling up his fist to show the team's tightness after a regular season with occasional fractures. "That was back then, early months, early days. Now we're in this thing. Everybody's locked in, ready to go. I know what we're capable of."
Once again, the Bulls were capable of outrebounding the Celtics, who at least showed a pulse in that department in the second half.
But this time, the Bulls turned into an offensive juggernaut, led by a vintage performance from Rajon Rondo. Dazzling on the same parquet floor where he once roamed for nine seasons, Rondo finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and a franchise playoff-record-tying 14 assists as the Bulls shot 51.1 percent overall.
That included 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists from Butler, another postgame podium-worthy appearance from Robin Lopez with 18 points and eight rebounds and all five starters hitting double figures. Dwyane Wade scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth.
Paul Zipser replaced Bobby Portis for the unexpected reserve star turn, contributing 16 points.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens tried adjustments. He used Terry Rozier off the bench after not playing the guard in Game 1. And he started Tyler Zeller in the second half for Amir Johnson, who had been mostly a non-factor for six quarters.
But the Celtics were outrebounded 43-38 and shot 10-for-33 from 3-point range.
Isaiah Thomas followed his 33-point outing in Game 1 with 20 points. Stevens said the guard planned to fly to Washington on Wednesday to be with his family after his sister died in a one-car accident Saturday. Thomas is scheduled to rejoin the team in Chicago in time for Friday's Game 3.
"It's quiet," Stevens admitted about the atmosphere around the team. "Everybody really feels for the guy. We're together all the time. It's a great group of guys and we realize that we have a job to do and have to prepare as well as we can. At the same time, there's a strong relationship there."
That tragic story isn't going away. And neither are the hungry Bulls, who are trying to put an uneven regular season behind them.
"We can't worry about the past or the future for that matter," Butler said. "We have today to worry about; that's hard in itself. I think everybody's playing a role, doing what they can to make this organization, this team successful."
