Payton Pritchard was good as gold with another buzzer-beater for the Celtics, this time just before halftime against the Bulls in his 21-point effort.
Payton Pritchard was good as gold with another buzzer-beater for the Celtics, this time just before halftime against the Bulls in his 21-point effort.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
In their first home game of the new year, the Celtics welcomed the Bulls to TD Garden on Monday night and won, 115-101, to extend a winning streak to four games/lost.
The game marked the start of a four-game homestand, coming off a 3-1 road trip out West, with Denver, Toronto, and San Antonio slated to follow Chicago into town.
Anfernee Simons led the Celtics with 27 points in 27 minutes off the bench. Payton Pritchard had 21 points, while Jaylen Brown’s shooting cooled off (6 for 24) on his way to 14.
The Celtics’ perimeter shooting was off at the start, but Neemias Queta and Luka Garza helped ensure that the points piled up anyway by converting two putbacks apiece in the opening quarter, part of a 14-2 edge in second-chance points.
The Bulls’ lack of production in this area was particularly startling considering they missed 28 of 41 shots, giving them plenty of extra opportunities.
Pritchard had one of Boston’s only loud offensive stretches in the opening quarter when he pulled up for a 3-pointer in the final minute and then drained a midrange jumper to stretch a lead to 31-14.
Chicago was just 6 for 22 from the field with six turnovers in the opening quarter, allowing the Celtics to open up such a big lead despite their own grisly shooting.
Brown, coming off his scorching 50-point performance to cap a strong road trip, kept looking for ways to get untracked by finding mid-range and paint chances. But one try after another rolled off the rim during his 1 for 11 start.
Once again, though, the Bulls’ struggles more than negated any lack of scoring punch by the Celtics. Chicago generated plenty of clean looks from beyond the arc but missed 20 of its first 22 anyway.
With about five minutes left in the second quarter, veteran guard Jevon Carter checked in and did what his teammates theretofore could not: He hit 2 of 3 3-pointers. That mini-flurry helped Chicago slice a 23-point deficit to 49-33. But it did not lead to a meaningful run.
In the final seconds of the half, Brown grabbed a rebound and decided to get the ball to a hotter hand who also happens to be one of the NBA’s most dangerous scorers at the end of quarters. Pritchard rushed upcourt as fans stood in anticipation, and the 6-foot-1-inch guard swished a step-back, fadeaway 3-pointer from the left arc at the buzzer. He smiled and nodded as if to indicate that he had expected the result.
That gave the Celtics a 54-33 lead after shooting just 35.7 percent from the field in the half.
Chicago lingered in the third quarter, but Pritchard helped ensure that they never got too close. He drilled two 3-pointers over a 40-second span, and with 8:08 left he scored inside as he was fouled.
The Celtics needed the burst from someone with Brown continuing to scuffle. After he dropped to 0 for 5 from the 3-point line, he grabbed the rebound and let out frustrations with a loud one-handed dunk.
Second chances such as those continued to give Boston a lift.
Late in the quarter, Simons missed a 3-pointer, but Hugo González tussled for the offensive rebound and fired it right back to Simons, whose 3-pointer gave Boston an 82-61 lead. That helped kick-start a massive stretch for Simons in which he poured in 18 consecutive Celtics points, including three 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the fourth.