Jaylen Brown in avenue garments? Payton Pritchard slogging via considered one of his worst capturing nights of the season?
Didn’t matter for the Celtics on Tuesday night time in Phoenix.
Enjoying with out Brown, who sat out with a knee contusion on the primary night time of a back-to-back, Boston battered the shorthanded Suns 97-81 on the Mortgage Matchup Heart to stay good on their West Coast street journey.
Derrick White led the Celtics with 22 factors, eight rebounds, eight assists, three blocks and one steal. Neemias Queta (14 factors, 13 rebounds, two blocks) and Baylor Scheierman (11 factors, 11 rebounds) each notched double-doubles. Pritchard, who had scored at least 24 points in six of his previous seven games, was held to eight on 2-of-13 capturing with three turnovers, however nonetheless completed as a plus-11 in his 34 minutes.
After falling behind by 11 throughout an uneven first half, the Celtics buried the Suns with a 50-11 run that stretched from halfway via the second quarter till late within the third. Total, Boston tried 16 extra pictures and 11 extra 3-pointers than Phoenix, which was taking part in with out injured main scorers Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks. The Celtics additionally held a large edge in offensive rebounding (22-9) and totaled simply eight turnovers towards a Suns workforce that forces greater than 16 per sport (third-most within the NBA).
Together with their dwelling win over Chicago earlier than the NBA All-Star break, the 38-19 Celtics have received 4 straight — all by double digits — and 9 of their final 10. Tuesday’s victory saved them in rivalry for the unique 40/20 membership — 40 wins earlier than their twentieth loss — a benchmark all however three NBA champions since 1980 have cleared.
They’re additionally 5-1 in video games Brown has missed this season, with wins by 16, 16, 19, 21 and 45 factors and one two-point loss. Boston allowed 101 factors or fewer in all six of these matchups, showcasing the surprising depth that’s helped them far exceed their preseason projections. Of the 5 gamers who began towards Phoenix, solely White had been a full-time NBA starter earlier than this season.
The Celtics will conclude their journey with a nationally televised Wednesday night time showdown towards Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets (10 p.m. ET; ESPN).
Head coach Joe Mazzulla plugged Ron Harper Jr. into Brown’s spot within the beginning lineup, simply as he did when the latter sat out Boston’s Feb. 4 win over Houston. It was the second profession begin for the two-way wing, who’s now seen motion in six of the workforce’s final seven video games after not often taking part in exterior of the G League for the primary three-plus months of the season.
Harper and his fellow starters labored the offensive glass relentlessly. 5 minutes in, all 5 had grabbed at the least one offensive rebound. The Celtics piled up 9 whole OREBs within the first quarter, together with 4 by Harper.
There have been way more alternatives for these than Boston would have preferred, nonetheless. The Celtics shot simply 9-for-28 from the sector (32%) and 3-for-15 from 3-point vary (20%) within the opening interval. Because of this, they turned these 9 offensive boards into simply 4 second-chance factors. They surrendered a 10-0 Suns run and trailed 26-21 after one.
Phoenix shot the ball far more effectively throughout that stretch. The hosts hit seven of their first 13 threes, together with three straight makes that put them forward 41-30 halfway via the second quarter.
After that flurry, the Celtics’ offense lastly settled in.
Pritchard drove and drew fouls on back-to-back possessions. White hit a 3-pointer. After Pritchard stole an errant Suns move, White zipped one inside to Queta for an emphatic dunk. Jordan Walsh drew an offensive foul to pressure a turnover, pump-faked a 3 to evade a Phoenix defender, then drove baseline for a slam. (A couple of minutes later, Walsh lobbied for the Celtics to problem an accurate foul name and was benched for the remainder of the sport.)
One other White 3-pointer — his fourth of the half — erased the Suns’ double-digit lead. Ensuing Queta free throws capped a 14-0 Celtics run, and Boston took a 50-46 benefit into halftime.
White scored 18 first-half factors, and Queta had 10, serving to the Celtics stand up to each Brown’s absence and Pritchard’s off capturing night time.
Queta’s work at each ends helped Boston lengthen its lead early within the second half. The large man drew a foul inside, sank a child hook shot, rejected a shot by Suns counterpart Mark Williams and fed a move to Sam Hauser for a layup. He additionally continued to stack up rebounds, securing his tenth double-double of the season earlier than the halfway level of the third quarter.
Hauser (16 factors, 4-for-10 from three, 4 assists) added three 3-pointers as a part of a 12-point quarter. Nikola Vucevic changed Queta and chipped in a turnaround jumper, a tip-in, a pair of free throws and a slick move to arrange a Scheierman layup.
The story of the third quarter, although, was Boston’s protection. The Celtics outscored the Suns 30-11, with two of the latter’s 4 made area targets coming within the closing 90 seconds of the body. They held Phoenix scoreless for greater than six straight minutes.
Harper delivered the loudest defensive play when he sprinted again to dam a transition layup by Jamaree Bouyea, drawing such a robust response from his teammates that Scheierman gave him a high-five whereas the ball was nonetheless in play. A nifty Eurostep end by Hugo Gonzalez on the different finish made it 75-52 Celtics. It was 80-57 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
The Suns opened the fourth with a 9-0 run, however a 3-pointer by Harper, adopted by an and-one White floater and one other three by Scheierman, snuffed out the temporary rally.
Mazzulla emptied his bench with 4 minutes remaining, sending in rookie John Tonje for his NBA debut and veteran Dalano Banton for his first minutes as a Celtic this season. Tonje, a trade-deadline pickup, and Banton, who hung out with Boston throughout the 2023-24 season, are on 10-day contracts that expire this weekend.
Phoenix grew to become the eighth Celtics opponent within the final 10 video games to fail to attain greater than 100 factors. Boston’s defensive ranking throughout that stretch leads the NBA.
