BOSTON — The Celtics remained hot coming off their road trip, beating the Bulls 115-101 on Monday at TD Garden. The C’s won their eighth game in nine tries, improving to 23-12 on the year. The Bulls dropped to 17-19.
It was all C’s early, though it was a somewhat bizarre game. The Bulls couldn’t buy a bucket throughout the first half, allowing the Celtics to build up a big lead. Despite that, it’s not like the Celtics were playing great as they shot 35.7% from the field in the first half. It’s just that the Bulls struggled even more, including a 5-for-28 showing on 3-pointers.
Chicago started making shots in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to erase Boston’s early lead. The C’s also dominated the glass, outrebounding the Bulls 64-49. The Bulls made it somewhat interesting late, but the Celtics never let the end result be threatened.
Payton Pritchard had 21 points and six rebounds. Anfernee Simons put up 27 points off the bench. Matas Buzelis had 26 points to lead the Bulls while Nikola Vucevic had 15 points and 15 rebounds.
The Celtics face the Nikola Jokic-less Nuggets next at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Boston. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Chicago:
At the margins: The Celtics weren’t great offensively when it came to efficiency, but they built up their big lead because of the margins. They had the 26-12 in second-chance points with a huge edge on the glass. The C’s had 20 offensive rebounds compared to six for the Bulls. It was also a 19-8 Boston edge in points off turnovers. The margins are an area Boston coach Joe Mazzulla stresses, and his team made sure to come out on top there Monday.
Continued stellar play: Simons had a strong road trip as he’s getting more and more comfortable with his bench role. The reserve guard put up another great scoring night, shooting 9-for-16 from the field and 8-for-14 on his 3-pointers. Defense was a question mark for Simons, but he’s been competent recently. As the Celtics continue to stack wins, there’s no doubt that Simons has been a huge factor.
Tough follow-up: Brown was the talk of the NBA coming off his 50-point game against Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers, but it was a struggle Monday for Brown. He shot just 6-for-24 from the field, including a 3-for-14 showing in the first half. Brown still finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists, but the shot-making wasn’t at the same level as the other game. It was one of Brown’s worst shooting games of the season, but off-nights happen. It doesn’t take away from his season as a whole.
Starter watch: The Celtics rolled with Sam Hauser in the fifth starter role for the second straight game, taking Jordan Walsh’s spot. It’s an area to keep an eye on because Walsh’s emergence this season was an early positive storyline. Walsh had a great night against the Clippers, showing off why his high-energy play was such a weapon for Boston. It wasn’t as loud a night Monday for Walsh against the Bulls, though he played 18 minutes and put up five points and five rebounds.