Anfernee Simons making case for Boston as Celtics prep for Blazers

Guard Anfernee Simons is frequently linked to trade rumors, but he's making it difficult for the Boston Celtics to move him. Simons and the Celtics will meet the visiting Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, two days after he came off the bench to score 21 points in 28 minutes during a 114-111 loss to Chicago.

Boston acquired Simons from Portland in a trade that sent Jrue Holiday to Portland last July. Simons is in the final year of a four-year, $100 million contract extension he signed with Portland in 2022.

Simons is averaging 13.9 points per game this season, and his 21-point performance in the loss to Chicago came after Boston beat Brooklyn in double overtime Friday.

"Obviously those things (playing on back-to-back nights) can play a factor, but we're not going to give ourselves those types of excuses," Simons said. "We knew we came here to win a game and we fully expected to win the game, no matter the cost, no matter what obstacles we had to go through before the game, the night before, it doesn't even matter. We got to come together and win a ballgame and that's the attitude we have."

Jaylen Brown led Boston with 33 points against Chicago, despite dealing with hamstring tightness that landed him on the injury report prior to Saturday's game. He played 46 minutes of the double-overtime victory against Brooklyn on Friday night.

Monday's matchup will kick off a four-game homestand for Boston, which had won four of its last five before losing to the Bulls.

Holiday will be on a minutes restriction in his return to Boston, where wintery conditions could impact logistics. He missed nearly two months earlier this season with a calf strain.

"No matter the weather that's supposed to be coming, we got a job to do," Holiday said. "We'd like to win."

Holiday had 21 points and seven assists during Friday night's 110-98 loss to Toronto. Portland was limited to 12 points in the first quarter, when the Trail Blazers shot 4 of 26 from the field, including 1 of 11 from 3-point territory.

"If you go 13-for-45 (on 3-point attempts), it's not a great shooting night and it's hard to win," Portland coach Tiago Splitter said. "There's nights we're a little bit off like that. You just have to keep pounding and trust. There were (other) nights that we started like that and we changed it around. It was not the case (against Toronto), but like I said we have to flush that one, get together, watch film. What can we do better? Maybe the shot selection? We'll see."

Portland played without leading scorer Deni Avdija (26.0 ppg) on Friday because of a lower back strain, but Splitter said he expects Avdija to play Monday.

Monday's contest will be the second meeting between Portland and Boston this season. Shaedon Sharpe made five 3-pointers and scored 26 points to help the Trail Blazers beat the Celtics 114-108 in Portland on Dec. 28. Avdija had 24 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds in that victory.

Portland is 9-3 in the 2026 calendar year.