On a night when the Bulls franchise honored Derrick Rose and raised his #1 to the United Center rafters, the home team beat Boston 114-111 with a last second triple from Kevin Huerter. For the Celtics, they split the back-to-back nailbiters after winning in double OT last night in Brooklyn, but fall to 10-14 in clutch games.
Back in early January, the Celtics cruised to a 115-101 win over the Bulls back at TD Garden. They led by as many as 23 points and Boston buried Chicago under an avalanche of
threes with Anfernee Simons hitting 8-of-14 from behind the arc for 27 points.
On a chilly night in the Windy City, it was the Bulls that got hot and hit nearly half their triples (21-of-45), including Huerter’s game-winner from the corner.
Since promoting Joe Mazzulla to head coach, the Celtics have the best record on back-to-backs at 35-13 (h/t Dan Greenberg). Coming off a double overtime win in Brooklyn on Friday night, the Celtics offense looked a little tired and hey couldn’t overcome their poor shooting; they made just 15 of their 47 threes.
Jaylen Brown finished with another 30-plus game with 33 points (14-0f-28 from the field), eight rebounds, and five assists. Anfernee Simons chipped in 21 and Derrick White’s shooting slump (5-of-18) continued in the loss. Seven Bulls players finished in double figures.
As CelticsBlog’s Nate Moskowitz noted in his Question Marks heading into the game, Williams getting more minutes was a distinct possibility:
Mazzulla has consistently rewarded young players who impact games, and Williams may have earned himself a longer look. While his development is primarily happening in Maine, there’s value in giving him NBA reps — something he’s handled well each time so far.
Williams in fact started in place of Neemias Queta. He didn’t get the lion’s share at center as a starter normally does, but he did look solid in his ten minutes of playing time.
The team now heads home for seven of nine at TD Garden with the trade deadline (February 5th) and All-Star Weekend on the horizon. They host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday at 5 pm.
