BOSTON — It was hard to know exactly what to expect heading into Friday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls with the Celtics locked into the No. 2 seed in the East and resting starters Al Horford and Jayson Tatum.
Even a highly creative mind would not have expected it to be a night of Greg Monroe, Jabari Bird and Jonathan Gibson.
Monroe put up his second career triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Bird tripled his previous career points [...]
BOSTON — It was hard to know exactly what to expect heading into Friday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls with the Celtics locked into the No. 2 seed in the East and resting starters Al Horford and Jayson Tatum.
Even a highly creative mind would not have expected it to be a night of Greg Monroe, Jabari Bird and Jonathan Gibson.
Monroe put up his second career triple-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Bird tripled his previous career points total with 15, and Gibson hit his first three 3-pointers on his way to nine points as the Celtics held off the Bulls for a 111-104 victory.
“We only had one original starter from the beginning of the year out there,” said Jaylen Brown, who was the game’s biggest star with a career-high 32 points. “That was me. Everybody else has been in and out of the lineup. For us to step up and continue to win games, despite whatever else is going on, is amazing.”
Brown’s 3-pointer with 1:42 to play made it a 107-98 game. His seventh 3-pointer of the night on 10 attempts then made it 110-100 with 36.3 seconds to go, capping the career-best performance.
“I’ve just been putting in work,” Brown said of his 3s. “This summer, I put an emphasis on getting better on shooting. I think the results have been reaped this year. I’ve been shooting at a pretty (rate) this year. But it started in the mindset of being able to shoot the ball.”
Guerschon Yabusele’s free throw with 25.4 seconds to play, and ensuing rebound, put the finishing touch on the surprisingly entertaining game considering its utter lack of consequence in the standings.
“We just said in the locker room that everything matters,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “Whether you’re playing tonight, or you’re not playing tonight. There’s a purpose behind what you’re doing and you learn something you take to the next game.”
Down three at the half, the Celtics went up four early in the third on a Brown 3-pointer with 8:20 left in the quarter. It was within a two-possession game the rest of the third with the spice of the quarter coming in the final two minutes as Marcus Morris and Bobby Portis were ejected after twice bumping and jawing at each other on the same inbounds play.
Monroe ran off seven straight points amid the contentiousness, with his three-point play putting Boston up 79-74 with 39.3 seconds left in the third, before the Celtics hit the fourth leading by three.
“It just kind of evolved tonight,” Monroe said. “Guys are resting. Guys are hurt. Morris gets tossed. I guess (the offense) ran through me by default.
“It was just about moving the ball. I think everything I did was within the offense. Guys were making the right reads as far as cutting. Guys were coming off shooting, making shots.”
Gibson, who earlier in the day signed a 10-day contract with the Celtics after playing in the Chinese Basketball Association and flying the red-eye from Las Vegas, drained 3-pointers on his first two shots as the Celtics went up 89-86 with 8:53 left in the fourth.
Gibson then hit Semi Ojeleye for a 3-pointer and Gibson hit a third 3-pointer for a 95-90 lead with 7:23 to play.
“No pressure,” said Gibson when told Stevens said he was brought here to put the ball in the basket. “I’m an aggressive player. I’ve been so my whole life.”
Monroe’s drive to the basket made it a nine-point game with 5:09 to play. He then got his triple-double when he found Brown for a corner 3-pointer with 3:46 to play.
The Bulls closed the gap to 102-98 with 2:49 to play when Bird swatted away a shot at a two-point game and Ojeleye drove for a six-point game before Brown's daggers.
The first half was all about the unexpected unleashing of Bird upon the Boston sports landscape.
The University of California rookie, who spent most of the season with the Maine Red Claws of the G-League or injured with a sore back, entered the night with five points in 37 career minutes.
But Bird was Boston’s go-to scorer for stretches of the half as he knocked down 6-of-8 shots for 13 points in 12 minutes off the bench on his way to 15 points in the game.