The Boston Celtics weren’t able to escape the jaws of defeat on back-to-back nights. After surviving a double-overtime thriller against the Brooklyn Nets Friday, they lost a nail-biter in Chicago to the Bulls 114-111.
Here’s what stood out:
Is this how it felt to play against the Celtics for the past three seasons?
As everyone who knows anything about the NBA knows, all the Celtics did over the past three seasons was make a bunch of threes, right?
All kidding aside, if this is what it felt like to play Boston during that span, then I don’t envy fans of other teams. It felt like the Bulls didn’t miss in this one, especially in the second half.
Chicago made 20 of their first 36 attempts from beyond the arc before finally cooling off later in the fourth quarter -- of course, until the very end when Kevin Huerter gamed them from the corner.
Late-game rebounding will raise your blood pressure
Speaking of the fourth quarter, for the second-straight night, the Celtics struggled to close out defensive stops with a rebound. The aforementioned hot shooting from Chicago made it all the more frustrating when they’d finally miss, yet Boston couldn’t grab the board.
The Bulls had four offensive rebounds through the first three quarters. They matched that total over the final 12 minutes.
Not the greatest trend for the Celtics to follow.
Jaylen Brown’s mid-range jumper is back, and it’s wonderful
Ever since he hung 50 points on the Los Angeles Clippers early in January, Jaylen Brown’s jumpshot hasn’t been as consistent as it’d been to that point of the season. He’s shot just 40% from the field in his nine ensuing appearances.
Brown’s effectiveness is still very much a thing, but the foundation he’d built his MVP case on, the mid-range game, has eluded him.
On Saturday night, it was back. JB made it apparent right from the opening jump that he was dialed in against the Bulls, despite having battled hamstring tightness in his 46 minutes just 24 hours prior.
He knocked down five of his eight attempts from the free-throw line area en route to an efficient 33-point performance.
Anfernee Simons made every big shot
After a stretch of red-hot play throughout December and January, Anfernee Simons had cooled off a bit over his past few games. He refound whatever mojo he’d been fueling his fire with in Chicago.
Simons scored in a variety of ways. He drove, took runners, and made three-pointers, as he’s done all season long. Not only was his bucket-getting efficient, but it was timely.
There were times in this game where it felt like Chicago was ready to drop an avalanche on the Cs, and Simons consistently served as a stabilizing force for Boston.
He finished the night with 21 points on 8-16 from the field, including 5-11 from beyond the arc. It was great to see him find a rhythm again. When Simons is hot, he’s a real asset for this Celtics team off the bench.