A 27-point second half from a hot-shooting Anfernee Simons helped the Celtics stave off what could’ve been a letdown game with a 115-101 win over the Bulls at TD Garden.
This latest triumph for the Celtics came less than 48 hours after the Green’s season-best 146-point explosion in Los Angeles on Saturday night, and fresh off a flight back to Boston that left the Celtics’ legs a little heavy. It was noticeable throughout the night, too, with almost every starter having a rougher-than-usual shooting night.
“I think I understood coming into the game like how tough the game was going to be, mentally and physically,” Simons said following Boston’s victory. “Just coming off a long road trip coming from the west coast, being on the plane all day, and we knew that it was a possibility that we might struggle a little bit offensively.
“But I think defensively through most of the first half, I think we played great. We were getting stops and you know making the game, and I think that’s what helped us.”
For Simons, all 27 of his points came in the second half, and with connections on eight of his 14 attempts from three-point range. That tied a Celtic franchise record for most three-point shots made in a single half, while his 27 second-half points were the most by a Celtics bench player in a single half since Ricky Davis dropped 26 in Feb. 2004.
Behind Simons, the Celtics got a solid 21-point effort out of Payton Pritchard behind an 8-for-17 shooting night. Pritchard even treated the Garden crowd to another buzzer-beating shot to close out the first half.
The win was Boston’s eighth in their last nine games, and their 13th in their last 16 games overall. And with their victory coupled with a New York loss on Monday night, the Celtics moved into second place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The C’s get back to work Wednesday night against the Nuggets at TD Garden.