Dwyane Wade scored 22 points in a triumphant Chicago debut, Jimmy Butler had 24 and the Bulls won their season opener, beating the Boston Celtics 105-99 on Thursday night.
Wade hit the clinching 3 with 26.3 seconds left. Taj Gibson added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and the new-look Bulls got off to a winning start after missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008.
Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 25 points. Avery Bradley had 16, and Jae Crowder 14 points, but the Celtics came up short after opening with a win over Brooklyn the previous night.
The Bulls remade their roster in the offseason, jettisoning one hometown superstar and welcoming another when they traded Derrick Rose to New York and signed Wade to a two-year deal worth about $47 million in a move that stunned Miami.
Wade hit 4 of 6 3-pointers in this game after making just 7 of 44 all of last season.
Rajon Rondo, signed by Chicago after a resurgent season with Sacramento, added nine assists. Butler had seven rebounds, and the Bulls pounded the Celtics on the glass 55-36.
The Bulls were leading 95-81 midway through the fourth quarter after newcomer Michael Carter-Williams buried a 3 and a floater and Butler hit a floater of his own.
The Celtics scored 11 straight to get back into it, a driving layup by Thomas cutting it to 95-92.
It was 101-99 when Boston's Jaylen Brown got called for a travel. Wade then nailed that 3 over Bradley to make it a five-point game with 26.3 seconds left, sealing the win for Chicago.
Butler had some heated words with college teammate Crowder late in the first half.
Crowder rebounded a miss by Wade - another Marquette product - and charged into Butler, leading to a heated exchange.
Rondo also got into it with Isaiah Thomas, and all four players got called for technicals.
The Bulls host Indiana on Saturday.
>>Bulls Sign Former First Round Pick Hunter
The Chicago Bulls have signed former Boston Celtics first-round draft pick R.J. Hunter.
The Bulls announced the move before Thursday's opener against the Celtics. The guard from Georgia State was let go by Boston this week.
The 28th pick in the 2015 draft, Hunter averaged 2.7 points in 36 games as a rookie for the Celtics last season.
