Back in late January, nobody could have envisioned the scene from late Tuesday at TD Garden.

Rajon Rondo, Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade the Three Alphas descended from their postgame podium session all smiles and serenity. Even away from the spotlight, the questions over, the three players continued talking, first among themselves and then with a growing group of team officials and friends.

In a hallway they exchanged hand-slaps, not unlike the picture Rondo posted to his Instagram account on Jan. 26 of him with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce from their shared Celtics championship season.

Rondo's words accompanying that picture, in which he strongly rebuked the decision by Wade and Butler to criticize teammates following a late-game collapse to the Hawks the night before, prompted a team meeting, fines and national negative attention.

For a few days, including the Jan. 27 home loss to the Heat that dropped them to 23-25, the Bulls overtook the Knicks as the league leader in dysfunction.

The Bulls are 20-16 since, including a 2-0 mark in a playoff series that shifts to the United Center for Friday's Game 3. As the Bulls vie to become the sixth No. 8 seed to topple a No. 1 seed in the 68 first-round series since the NBA moved to a 16-team playoffs in 1984, they are emboldened by the fact teams with 2-0 leads in seven-game series are 262-18 (.936) all time.

They also are emboldened by what they have overcome.

"We had adversity as every team has, and that's the thing that's made us closer and stronger together," Wade said. "The credit for this team sticking together through injuries, a trade, through everything, it goes to everyone, from the coaching staff to the leaders to the young guys. Everyone did it together."

This is no fluke lead. The Bulls, led by Robin Lopez, have pummeled the Celtics on the glass and in second-chance points. Butler has outplayed Isaiah Thomas in the battle of stars. And role players such as Bobby Portis in Game 1 and Paul Zipser in Game 2 have delivered steady, heady play.

But perhaps the most encouraging sign for the Bulls is that the Three Alphas played with chemistry and consistency in Game 2. That hasn't been the case for much of the season, even in the Game 1 victory.

And it's doing nothing to slow the growing possibility that, if Wade opts in, the Three Alphas, against all odds, could be back for another season.

"One thing we know about our point guard is he likes everybody to go. He had nine rebounds and when he gets the ball, he's like, 'Go, go,'" Wade said. "We need easy baskets. This is a great defensive team. If we see their half-court defense set up every play, it's going to be hard to score. So our mentality is try to get out and get some easy ones and put some pressure on them."

Wade scored 11 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter of Game 2, he reminded all why even at 35 he has such a powerful playoff pedigree.

After scoring 15 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter of Game 1, Butler stuffed the box score with 22 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and four steals in Game 2. That's greatness.

But Rondo is proving the biggest revelation. Missing out on his 11th career playoff triple double by one rebound, Rondo also had five steals and harassed Thomas effectively enough to limit the need for Butler to guard him, preserving Butler's energy for offense. Avery Bradley said Rondo picked up on the Celtics' poor body language and kept saying on the court that they gave up.

"I just stayed in the gym and worked. I don't think it's anything I've done as far as the mindset," Rondo said of his resurrection from a five-game benching around the New Year. "Before the game, Jimmy and D-Wade kept telling me to shoot and stay aggressive."

Rondo now has career playoff averages of 14.4 points, 6 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 2 steals in 96 games.

"For the playoffs, me in particular, you get a couple of extra days rest for the body," Rondo said. "You get three or four days of prep on a team, lock in to their game plan."

Rondo carries a leaguewide reputation for his preparatory film work and basketball IQ. A common scene in the postgame locker room is for Rondo to call loudly to the video coordinator for an iPad filled with clips he needs to study for the next game.

Wade, who engaged in memorable playoff battles with Rondo when they played for the Heat and Celtics, knows this dynamic well.

"Hated him as a competitor," Wade said. "But that hate is that respect. When we played against Boston back in the day, he knew all the plays. He messes up your first option. And then he knows the second option. We were just good enough to have a third option.

"For me and Jimmy to have someone who is so locked in, that gives us a different voice. Fred (Hoiberg) gives us a voice. We know we can go to (Rondo) and ask anything. He's watching film all the time. It's key to have a point guard like him that controls the whole game. Our job was easy. We just had to play."

It beats bickering.

"We have obviously moved past what happened," Hoiberg said. "They haven't played a lot of games together since Dwyane had the injury (fractured right elbow) and Rajon was inserted back in that starting lineup. They had great chemistry early on in the season. Hopefully it will continue on the rest of the series."

kcjohnson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kcjhoop

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Bulls' Three Alphas reunited and reveling in newfound chemistry - Chicago Tribune