The win notched Boston’s thirtieth road win of the season. Spurs next.
The Boston Celtics traveled to Phoenix on Wednesday, defeating the Suns 132-102. This was Boston’s 7th straight win, and they did it without their star, Jayson Tatum, who was out with an ankle injury.
Boston came out firing early, knocking down 7 of 9 three-pointers and taking a 21-9 lead within the first 5 minutes. The Celtics made 10 three-pointers, with seven players hitting at least one. It was a high-scoring affair in the first quarter, with Boston leading Phoenix 42-38.
The Celtics started to play much better defensively in the second quarter as they came up with many steals, contested three-point shots, and blocked shots inside without fouling. The offense hadn’t slowed down either, with Boston going on a 15-0 run to lead the Suns by as many as 25 points. Jaylen Brown played excellent isolation basketball, whether it was getting all the way to the basket or hitting step back threes. Boston held the Suns to just 16 points in the second quarter and led 73-54 at the half.
Boston continued to blow the game wide open in the third quarter. Kristaps Porzingis was in his bag as he was scoring from everywhere. He did an excellent job of taking advantage of switches onto smaller defenders by shooting right over them or using his size to get inside for two easy points. He had 13 of his 30 points in the quarter. Boston led the Suns 108-81 after 3 quarters of play.
The fourth quarter was no different. Boston continued their high level of dominance and went on to win the game by a final score of 132-102. The Celtics had six players in double figures in this game, led by Kristaps Porzingis’ 30 points and eight rebounds. Jaylen Brown also pitched in 24 points. Boston now has an astonishing road record of 30-7 this season. They are 54-19 overall (third-best in the NBA).
The Celtics look to keep things rolling as they head to San Antonio to take on the Spurs on Saturday night.
