The Celtics returned home to TD Garden on Monday and greeted fans with a 115-101 win over the Chicago Bulls.
Here's what stood out:
This was a basketball game of all time
Man, after enjoying 48 minutes of absolute cinema in Saturday’s win over the Clippers, Celtics fans got an entirely different experience against the Bulls. Not in the sense where the Cs let the fanbase down, more so that this was disgusting hoops.
Through the first 24 minutes, neither team could buy a basket. Chicago shot just 31.7% from the field, while Boston shot 35.7%. Yet, the Celtics still managed to build a 21-point lead at the break thanks to their ability to create a massive gap in terms of shot margin. The Cs attempted 56 field goals in the first half, while holding the Bulls to just 41 attempts.
The Bulls woke up, big time, in the second half and managed to raise their shooting percentage all the way to 44%. Nonetheless, this was an ugly watch.
Jaylen Brown is mortal
This sort of goes hand and hand with the first section here, but Jaylen Brown’s start to this game could not have been more different than his performance on Saturday. Fresh off a 50-point onslaught, JB got off to a 1-11 start against the Bulls, and it did not matter in the slightest.
When he missed his 10th shot of the game, I looked at the scoresheet, saw how cold he was, then looked at the scoreboard and laughed because the Celtics were still up 20 points.
Two months ago, you couldn’t have told any fan of this team that they’d be able to survive an ice-cold night from JB, like this.
Brown somewhat found his footing in the second half, but didn't play remotely near the level he's capable of.
He finished with just 14 points on 6-24 shooting. Not his finest evening.
Payton Pritchard got cooking
Though Chicago was perhaps the least formidable of any Celtics opponent this season, the Cs still had to get offense from somewhere. That somewhere was Payton Pritchard.
Pritchard caught fire after sinking one of his signature buzzer beaters before halftime.
THAT’S WHAT PAYTON DOES 🎯 pic.twitter.com/uZXefowjsh
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) January 6, 2026
He carried that momentum into the third quarter, where he scored 11 points on 4-7 from the field. There was a healthy dose of the usual for the former Oregon star. He made some threes, put the ball on the floor, and got to his spot in the half-circle for a few signature fadeaways.
Some of his makes during this stretch were huge, considering the Bulls woke up a little bit after halftime.
He wound up with 21 points, and gave the Celtics a much needed boost.
So did Anfernee Simons
Anfernee Simons also got in on the fun in this one. After starting ice cold from the field, missing his first three attempts from long range, Simons caught fire from distance.
He sank three triples in the third quarter, then continued his barrage in the fourth with an extra five threes. No. 4 ended the evening as Boston's top scorer with 27 points.
Not only did Simons have a strong scoring night, but he did it in a low-usage way.
Joe Mazzulla and his staff did a great job of getting him the ball in spots where he was able to thrive. The former Trail Blazers guard has been a tremendous catch-and-shoot threat for Boston this year, and wouldn’t you believe that’s what got him cooing against the Bulls.