BOSTON — The Boston Celtics continued their climb up the Eastern Conference standings Monday night, routing the Chicago Bulls to claim sole possession of second place.

The 115-101 win at TD Garden pushed Boston ahead of the New York Knicks, who were blown out by the first-place Detroit Pistons earlier in the evening for their fourth consecutive loss.

The Celtics, now 23-12, have won four straight and eight of their last nine. They own the East’s best point differential this season and rank top-three in the NBA in offensive rating and net rating, far outpacing their lukewarm preseason expectations.

Jaylen Brown has been the primary driver of Boston’s success without injured superstar Jayson Tatum, but he struggled against Chicago, finishing with 14 points on 6 of 24 two days after dropping 50 against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Payton Pritchard and Anfernee Simons spearheaded the Celtics’ offense with 21 and 27 points, respectively. All of Simons’ scoring came in the second half. Pritchard shot 4 of 7 from 3-point range while Simons shot 8 of 14 on an otherwise ugly shooting night for both teams.

Boston will be back in action Wednesday night against the shorthanded Denver Nuggets, who will be without their three-time NBA MVP, Nikola Jokic (knee).

After a sluggish start, Derrick White sparked the Celtics by helping force turnovers on consecutive Chicago possessions. Those led to a 3-pointer by Sam Hauser, who was making his second straight start over Jordan Walsh, and a foul that sent White to the line for three shots. The Bulls committed six turnovers in the first quarter, including a pair of 24-second violations, and the Celtics turned them into 13 points.

Boston held Chicago to 14 total points in the first and closed the quarter on a 25-5 run. They dominated the second quarter, as well, and took a 54-33 lead into halftime.

As that scoreline suggests, it was not an impressive offensive half for either side. The Celtics shot 35.7% from the field and 28.6% from 3. The Bulls were even worse, shooting 31.7% overall and 5 for 28 from deep (17.9%).

The difference? Boston controlled the margins, holding decisive edges in points off turnovers, offensive rebounding and second-chance points. That dirty work allowed the Celtics to build a 19-point halftime lead despite Brown having nearly as many giveaways (two) as made field goals (3 for 14) over the preceding two quarters.

Pritchard was the only player to score in double figures during the rock-fight first half, but he got there in exhilarating fashion, hitting an off-balance 3-pointer as time expired in the second quarter. It was the first buzzer-beating 3 of the season for the Celtics guard, who made those shots his calling card during Boston’s 2024 championship run.

Pritchard added two more conventional 3-pointers early in the third quarter. Simons, who had no points on 0-for-3 shooting before halftime, went 9 for 13 in the second half as the Celtics stretched their lead to 23.

During one second-half stretch, Simons scored 18 consecutive Celtics points. He then assisted on a pair of makes from Brown, who finally found some offensive momentum midway through the fourth quarter. Brown’s first 3-pointer of the night made it 104-86 Celtics with 5:37 to play.

But the Bulls, who shot the ball much more efficiently after halftime, staged a late rally. A Matas Buzelis triple cut it to 104-93 with 4:17 remaining, triggering a Joe Mazzulla timeout. The Celtics responded with a Neemias Queta dunk and a long-awaited White 3-pointer — which snapped an 0-for-7 start from deep for the veteran guard — to wrest back momentum.

One last Simons three in the final minute iced the game for Boston.

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