Anfernee Simons poured in a game-high 27 points and Payton Pritchard added 21 as the Boston Celtics used a dominant defensive first half to cruise past the Chicago Bulls, 115-101, on Monday night.
Boston set the tone early, holding Chicago to just 33 points in the opening half while building a commanding 54-33 lead at the break. Neemias Queta recorded a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds, helping the Celtics secure their fourth consecutive win and eighth victory in their last nine games. Jaylen Brown was limited to 14 points on 6-of-24 shooting, a sharp contrast to his 50-point outing in Saturday’s win over the Clippers.
The Bulls struggled to find any rhythm offensively, missing 20 of their first 23 attempts from 3-point range and flirting with a franchise-low scoring half before late triples from Jevon Carter. Rookie Matas Buzelis led Chicago with 26 points, while Nikola Vučević’s 3-pointer trimmed the deficit to 106-96 with 3:34 remaining, but the rally fell short. Chicago, playing without leading scorer Josh Giddey due to a hamstring injury, didn’t reach 100 points until the final minute.
Boston led by as many as 22 and was never seriously threatened, closing out the game comfortably despite modest shooting stretches. The 33 points allowed marked the fewest the Celtics have surrendered in a first half this season.
Chicago continues its road trip Wednesday in Detroit, while Boston returns home to host Denver in the second game of a four-game homestand.
