With winter storm Jonas slamming the East Coast, the Celtics’ weekend travel plans dissolved into disarray. Their game against the 76ers in Philadelphia on Saturday was pushed back to Sunday, and their plan to fly out of Boston on Friday to beat the onslaught was nixed, too.

But before they worried about when or even whether they would play the 76ers and the Wizards in the coming days, they had to focus on avoiding a three-game losing streak. They had to focus on the Bulls.

In losses in the two previous games, the Celtics had strayed from the defensive focus that had served them so well this season. But against Chicago, that was not an issue. The Celtics were active and engaged, pestering the Bulls and closing passing lanes soon after they opened. In the end, Boston pilfered 14 steals and forced 20 turnovers overall, grabbing an important 110-101 win in which it never trailed.

“I thought we did a great job of getting stops on the defensive end,’’ forward Jared Sullinger said. “And sure enough, the tiny guy over there, he got it done for us in the fourth.’’

He was referring to point guard Isaiah Thomas, who made perhaps his final push as an All-Star candidate.

The Bulls had sliced a 16-point Boston lead to 97-96 with five minutes left. The Garden fans who had seen Boston both cough up large leads and fail to finish close games were becoming antsy. So the Celtics turned to Thomas, just as they generally do whenever things sour.

First, Thomas drove through the lane for a basket. Then with 2:36 left, he attacked and converted a difficult reverse layup, making it 103-96. Finally, with 1:20 remaining he carved through the defense and completed an elegant wraparound pass to Sullinger for a layup. The lead had been stretched back to 9 points. The Bulls were squashed.

“I thought we were settling for a lot of jump shots that we weren’t making, and they were the more aggressive team,’’ Thomas said. “I just tried to make something happen, get in the paint and see what I had.’’

When Thomas went to the foul line with 39.1 seconds left to seal the win, fans in the lower bowl began chanting, “All-Star! All-Star!’’ Thomas has made no secret of his desire to be selected for the team. He was not chosen as a starter, so his fate rests with the Eastern Conference coaches. The Celtics made one last plea of their own, as their public relations staff sent a flyer with Thomas’s accomplishments to the conference’s other teams.

Thomas finished with 22 points and five assists on Friday, but those statistics belie the impact he had during this game’s defining segment.

Sullinger added 18 points and 12 rebounds, playing an essential role with forward Amir Johnson absent because of a personal matter. Stevens said he was hopeful the snowstorm would not stop Johnson from joining the team in time for Sunday’s game.

Jimmy Butler had 28 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bulls and Derrick Rose added 27 points. Butler missed Chicago’s pregame shootaround because he felt sick, but once the game began he did not appear to be slowed by illness or anything else, for that matter. He just did not have enough help.

After a loss to the Raptors on Wednesday in which the Celtics shot the ball well, forward Jae Crowder said he hoped the team would also return to doing what it does best: playing aggressive and pestering defense. The Bulls, who average 14.6 turnovers per game, committed 13 in the first half alone.

“I think our guys would echo this,’’ Stevens said. “I didn’t feel like in any of the three games on the road we were as good as we’ve been. You don’t want to take anything away from those other teams. They certainly made shots and made plays. . . . But we were clearly better from the tip tonight.’’

With 5:24 left in the second quarter, a basket by rookie Bobby Portis — a forward many Celtics fans had hoped the team would acquire with the 16th pick of last June’s draft — pulled Chicago within 45-42.

But the Celtics stretched the lead back quickly. Avery Bradley started the flurry with a 3-pointer and Thomas ended it with a layup, as Boston needed just 2 minutes, 39 seconds to craft a 15-2 run. The Celtics led at halftime, 64-49.

With 4.8 seconds left in the third quarter, Rose drilled a 3-pointer from the left arc, pulling his team within 90-82. The Celtics started the fourth quarter by making just three of their first 12 shots, settling for long jumpers rather than attacking. A pair of free throws by Butler pulled Chicago within 97-96 with five minutes left. But then Thomas took over.

“The beautiful part about that was we’ve been there, and we knew what it would take to stop it,’’ Sullinger said of the Bulls’ run. “And we played like a unit at the end. We made big shots.’’

The Celtics had planned to fly to Philadelphia after Friday’s game, but the conditions there deteriorated quickly and that plan was tabled. The Celtics’ latest hope was to depart on Saturday after practicing in Waltham, after the storm had passed or at least slowed.

But there is a chance they will be stuck in Boston until Sunday. Whenever they leave, though, they will not bring a three-game losing streak with them.

?Storm pushes next game to Sunday. Page 6

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com.