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Court Sense: Second-place Celtics ☘️

Anfernee Simons scored 27 points in the second half on Monday.

Anfernee Simons scored 27 points in the second half on Monday.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

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Welcome back to Court Sense ☘️ A newsletter that thinks second place sounds really neat, actually

Much like the rest of us, the Celtics looked a little weary Tuesday in their return from a holiday trip.

Fortunately for Boston, the visiting Bulls looked like they’d left any semblance of a scoring touch in 2025. Chicago shot just 31.7 percent and scored 33 points in an ugly first half.

That was enough for the Celtics to take a 21-point lead into halftime and largely cruise to a comfortable win to open a five-game homestand.

That’s not to say Boston doesn’t deserve some credit. While the tired legs really appeared on jump shots left short, they often disappeared defensively. The Celtics were flying around in the first half, forcing Chicago into six turnovers (and two shot-clock violations) in the first quarter alone.

By the time Payton Pritchard did the Payton Pritchard thing at the halftime buzzer — not from halfcourt this time, just a routine step-back 3-pointer over three defenders — this one was pretty much out of reach.

That meant fans could sit back, relax, and spend the second half watching Anfernee Simons light the Bulls on fire for a little bit.

After going 0 for 3 (all 3-pointers) in the first half, Simons came out for the second half like he’d acquired the “on fire” power-up from NBA Jam in the tunnel, hitting eight 3-pointers and pouring in 27 points in the second half.

Spot up, step-back, off the catch, off the dribble ... it really didn’t matter. Simons was Boston’s entire offense at one point, scoring 18 straight points in whatever manner he wanted. Simons finished as the game’s leading scorer, despite not having really shown up for the game (a 7:30 p.m. tip) until, like, 8:45 or so.

The Celtics needed that scoring from Simons and Pritchard (21 points) on an off-night for their usual go-to options. Derrick White missed his first seven 3-point attempts and was in danger of losing his streak of consecutive games with at least one made triple (72 in a row entering Tuesday) before finally burying one with 3:14 to go.

It was a particularly off night for Jaylen Brown, who struggled to find any sort of rhythm and finished with 14 points in his worst offensive game of the season. Brown had some pretty decent looks throughout the night but couldn’t buy a bucket, finishing 6 of 24 from the field.

The Celtics are in second place in the East after Monday's win.

The Celtics are in second place in the East after Monday's win.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

I think most Celtics fans will give Brown a pass for one bad night considering the run he’s been on. Boston’s star wing was coming off his best game of the season, after all, having tied his career-high in hanging 50 points on the Clippers over the weekend.

Brown was magnificent in Los Angeles, making just about everything he threw up to lead Boston to a blowout win at the end of a long road trip. That performance raised Brown’s scoring average to 30.1 points per game (it has since dropped, but still) as he continues to impress in an expanded role for the Celtics.

Brown called himself “the best two-way player in the world” after that one, and it was hard to argue after he scored 50 while helping hold Clippers star Kawhi Leonard — averaging 40.4 points over his previous five games — to just 22 points on the other end.

There might’ve been a little extra motivation in that performance after Brown felt he should’ve been named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for December, an honor instead given to the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson.

“No disrespect, no diss to none of those guys, Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] or Brunson — neither one of them had a better month than I had,” Brown said on his livestream, which was apparently being conducted from the back of the party bus my friends and I tried (but, for financial reasons, failed) to rent for our high school prom back in 2016.

Putting aside the fact that Brown had very little chance of beating out Gilgeous-Alexander for Western Conference Player of the Month for geographical reasons that I don’t believe I have to explain, here’s a quick comparison of the two Ja(y)lens last month:

▪ Brown: 31.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 58.5 effective field goal percentage, 7-3 record (including a win over the Knicks)

▪ Brunson: 30.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 55.4 effective field goal percentage, 10-3 record (including a loss to the Celtics)

You can make own your decision on that one, as well as on whether or not you want your star player to be worried about this sort of thing. But hey, if it means Brown’s going to morph into Michael Jordan for a couple hours in a 30-point win, who are we to argue with the methods?

Accolades or otherwise, Brown can take a little solace in the standings, where the Celtics have moved above the Knicks and into second place after New York lost by a million to Detroit on Monday night.

Boston is 23-12 after winning eight of its last nine, just a couple games behind the 26-9 mark the Celtics had at this point last season (when they had Jayson Tatum and Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, it should be noted).

Boston has been undeniably impressive behind Brown’s superstar ascension, some young guys playing defense like their lives depend on it, and the occasionally unhinged guidance of Joe Mazzulla.

As the season approaches its halfway mark, the Celtics have been better than even the rosiest optimism would’ve imagined. Not bad for a gap year.

ICYMI 🗞️

Jaylen Brown (right) has been the star of an ascending Celtics team.

Jaylen Brown (right) has been the star of an ascending Celtics team.Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

The Celtics are 10 games over .500. It’s time to change the expectations for this team.

By Gary Washburn

Now that the Celtics have completed their longest road trip of the season and return home 10 games over .500 and a half-game back of the Knicks for the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, the expectations have to change.

After beginning 0-3, the Celtics have won 22 of 31 and are contenders led by MVP candidate Jaylen Brown, who ended this trip with a 50-point masterpiece against the Clippers.

The season is 41 percent over, and the Celtics have established an identity of being the hardest-playing team on the floor, with coach Joe Mazzulla spinning his magic with lineups and motivating the lesser-known players on the roster to perform beyond expectations.