The hardest task these days for the Boston Celtics might be staying humble after Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown on Wednesday each scored 25 points, while Malcolm Brogdon added 16 off the bench as they embarrassed the Phoenix Suns 125-98.
“You enjoy the moment, but you’ve got to understand why you did it,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Then you’ve got to know that it’s a long year. This could happen to us. It might not, but we’re going to go through some type of obstacles throughout the year.”
For now, the Celtics are making it look easy.
Photo: AFP
They won for the eighth time in nine games, improving their NBA-best record to 21-5.
The Suns — who came into the game with the best record in a crowded Western Conference race — lost for the third time in four games.
Tatum said that after a couple rough trips to Phoenix over the past couple years that ended in losses, there was a particular emphasis on this game.
Photo: AFP
“We remembered that,” Tatum said. “That was fresh on our minds. We wanted a different outcome.”
The expected showdown between two of the league’s top teams never materialized, with the Celtics at one stage leading by 45 points. They took a 31-21 lead after one quarter over the cold-shooting Suns, who missed all eight of their three-point attempts.
It only got worse for Phoenix.
“We didn’t compete the way we needed to compete tonight,” Suns center Deandre Ayton said.
Boston continued to build their lead in the second quarter, taking a 69-42 lead into the break.
“Phoenix is a great team and I thought the way we played showed the respect we had for them,” Mazzulla said.
The second half was essentially an afterthought. Tatum hit a free throw with 7 minutes, 1 second left in the third to push Boston’s advantage to 40.
Phoenix’s night was summed up in the third quarter when Mikal Bridges, Chris Paul and Devin Booker all tried to grab a loose ball, only to collectively bobble it away into the hands of Boston’s Marcus Smart, who scored an easy layup.
“It feels like that game should count as two losses, but the good thing is it is still only one,” Booker said.
Later, the three-time All-Star added: “You can’t blame scheme, you can’t blame rotation or anything on coach. We have to look at the mirror as a team and we have to fix it.”
The Suns welcomed back Paul, who missed the past 14 games with a sore right heel.
Josh Okogie led the Suns with a career-high 28 points off the bench, while Booker added 17. Paul finished with four points, four rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes.
In other games, it was:
‧ Bucks 126, Kings 113
‧ Bulls 115, Wizards 111
‧ Grizzlies 123, Thunder 102
‧ Jazz 124, Warriors 123
‧ Knicks 113, Hawks 89
‧ Magic 116, Clippers 111 (OT)
‧ Nets 122, Hornets 116
‧ Pelicans 104, Pistons 98
‧ Raptors 126, Lakers 113
‧ Timberwolves 121, Pacers 115
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