Here’s What Stood Out in the Celtics’ Win vs. Suns: Dominant Defensive Performance Paves Way to Blowout Victory
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It was supposed to be a potential NBA Finals preview. And while Wednesday’s matchup in the desert was presumably far less competitive than how a best-of-seven series with the Larry O’Brien Trophy on the line would play out between these two teams, the result was the Celtics improving on the league’s best road record — now 10-3 — in dominating fashion.
Boston did so with a stellar defensive performance, forcing the Suns to try to keep pace while relying heavily on inefficient shots from mid-range. As hard as Phoenix fought to sustain other avenues of scoring, the hosts finished the night shooting below 40 percent from the field and 8/32 (25 percent) from beyond the arc.
The visitors also displayed outstanding ball movement most of the game, assisting on 29 of 49 field goals, consistently generating high-quality shots. And before the score became so lopsided the Suns couldn’t even consider a comeback victory, Boston only committed four turnovers.
The game got away from Phoenix when the Celtics staged a 15-5 run to end the first frame, starting as soon as Chris Paul went to the bench with 4:15 left in the quarter. They closed the period on an 18-5, courtesy of a Blake Griffin three that came 31 seconds before Paul exited.
At the root of that were the stops against a Suns offense not getting the same quality of looks with their starting floor general on the bench and Boston’s second unit convincingly outplaying Phoenix’s.
Malcolm Brogdon registered the most points in the frame, producing eight on 3/3 shooting, going 2/2 from beyond the arc, pacing a Celtics’ bench that outscored the Suns’ second unit 10-1.
That paved the way for the visitors to take a 31-21 advantage into the second quarter.
And the momentum from Boston’s strong finish to the first 12 minutes snowballed into an avalanche as the Celtics bullied their way to a 69-42 lead at halftime, outscoring the hosts 38-21 in the second frame. It’s the eighth time in their last games they’ve scored at least 60 in the first half.
The visitors produced 32 points in the paint by the break, helping them shoot 50.9 percent from the field despite going 7/21 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc.
Defensively, the Celtics mostly forced Phoenix to make its living in the mid-range, as the hosts went 1/16 on threes and shot 35 percent from the floor.
Between Boston clamping down defensively and committing only four turnovers against a defense that forces the eighth-most in the NBA and generates the fourth-most points off giveaways, the Suns couldn’t keep pace.
Jaylen Brown went into halftime with a game-leading 17 points. Jayson Tatum put 14 on the board, including several smooth finishes.
Grant Williams registered 12 on 5/5 shooting, burying both threes he hoisted and showing Phoenix his improvement off the dribble.
And while Devin Booker produced ten points, he also committed four fouls, with a couple of them coming courtesy of Brown creating three-point plays at the Suns’ star’s expense.
After 24 minutes, Paul had four points and four assists.
Adhering to the formula they used to build a 27-point advantage at halftime, the Celtics grew the lead to 45 in the third quarter, their largest at any point this season.
A lopsided score resulted in Boston committing six turnovers in the third frame, more than it had in the first two combined. But the ball movement was still excellent, as was the defense, allowing the visitors to continue playing with pace and generating high-quality shots.
The good news for the hosts was that in the third quarter, they scored the most points they had in any period. The bad news was they only registered 23.
With the Celtics putting more than 30 points on the board for the third-straight frame, tacking on 35 more to their total, they took a 104-65 advantage into the final 12 minutes.
That earned Jayson Tatum the fourth quarter off. Marcus Smart also got to call it an early night. And while Brown started the final frame, he played less than two minutes before enjoying the remainder of Boston’s 125-98 win from the bench.
Up Next
The Celtics’ West Coast road trip next takes them to San Francisco for a matchup against the Warriors Saturday. The game tips off at 8:30 pm EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.
Further Reading
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Here’s What Stood Out in Celtics’ Win vs. Raptors: Increased Energy and Better Ball Security the Difference-Makers in Second Half Surge
[Film Room] How the Celtics Stifled the Nets, Delivering Their Best Defensive Performance This Season
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