The Celtics closed out the first half of the season in dominant fashion on Wednesday cruising to a 124-105 win over the Chicago Bulls at TD Garden.
Boston broke open a tight game midway through the first quarter with an explosive 32-8 run that spanned nearly eight minutes, quickly turning the game into a rout before intermission. The Bulls got no closer than 21 points in the final 30 minutes of regulation as Boston’s offense poured it on against a Chicago squad that has now lost six straight games.
Jaylen Brown led the way for Boston with 24 points while new trade addition Nikola Vucevic shined off the bench, posting a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Six different Celtics players scored in double figures in the win, helping Boston push its lead to as many as 33 points in the blowout win
Former Celtics guard Anfernee Simons finished with seven points in 28 minutes in his return to TD Garden and also got a nice ovation from the crowd during pregame intros.
The Celtics now get seven days off during the All-Star Break before a four-game road trip begins against the Warriors next Thursday.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ win on Wednesday night:
Celtics make starting lineup shift: For the first three games after trading away Anfernee Simons, Joe Mazzulla opted for a double big look with Luka Garza and Neemias Queta in the starting five. Boston’s offense struggled with that look, and with an undersized Bulls squad on the schedule Wednesday night, Mazzulla opted to go back to a smaller look with Queta as a single big and Baylor Scheierman starting. The move helped the Celtics get back on track offensively but also left Luka Garza out of the rotation until garbage time for the first time since December. The shift could end up being a permanent one with Jayson Tatum’s potential return looming within weeks.
Boston’s offense catches fire in the first half: The Celtics had some of their worst offensive games of the season in the past week but that changed in a hurry on Wednesday night. Boston erupted for 72 first half points, shooting a red-hot 58.3 percent from the field while going 10-of-19 from 3-point range. Payton Pritchard led the way for Boston early, knocking down seven of his first eight shots off the bench, and Jaylen Brown had a team-high 18 points early, turning a tight game midway through the first quarter into a laugher by halftime. The Celtics doubled up the Bulls 36-17 in the second quarter.
The Bulls have the perfect tanking roster: Chicago completely ripped apart their roster at the trade deadline, acquiring Anfernee Simons and a host of other undersized guards including Rob Dillingham, Collin Sexton, and Jaden Ivey. Combined with a lack of rim protectors, the Bulls have a roster with little chance of containing opposing offenses on a nightly basis. The Bulls have now lost six straight games (three since the trade deadline) and it’s hard to see this mismatched roster putting together competitive efforts on a nightly basis. The problem for Chicago? They may have started the tank too late, as they currently have the tenth-worst record in the NBA at 24-31, and no one below them in the standings is trying very hard to win thanks to a loaded 2026 draft class.
Celtics enter All-Star Break in a great spot: Despite playing without Jayson Tatum for the first 54 games of the season, the Celtics head into the break with the fourth-best record in the NBA. Joe Mazzulla has put together a terrific offense despite a massive overhaul of the roster that continued at the trade deadline with four additional deals. The depth of the roster is solid now at all positions following the acquisition of Vucevic and Boston is setup to compete now and the future after dipping under the luxury tax at the trade deadline. Tatum’s looming return only adds intrigue to the upside of this group in a wide-open Eastern Conference.