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4 takeaways as Celtics blow out Suns, stay perfect on road trip
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- 4 takeaways as Celtics blow out Suns, stay perfect on road trip
PHOENIX — The Celtics blew out the Suns 97-81 on Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Center, overcoming a slow start. The C’s remain perfect on their four-game road trip, improving to 38-19 on the season. The Suns dropped to 33-26.
The Celtics struggled as they trailed for the majority of the first half. Their 3-pointers seemingly refused to go down as the misses piled up, though they crashed the offensive glass. But the C’s finished the first half on a 20-5 run to take the lead, limiting the Suns to just five points in the final 6:41 of the quarter.
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Then the Celtics blew the game wide open in the third quarter, outscoring the Suns 30-11. While Phoenix’s offense flowed early and made 3s, its offense dried up. That allowed the Celtics to build a lead that peaked at 28 points, cruising to the blowout victory Tuesday. The Suns put some pressure on the Celtics in the fourth quarter, but they never threatened to string together a comeback attempt.
Both teams were shorthanded and without key starters. Jaylen Brown sat Tuesday with a knee contusion. Devin Booker (hip) and Dillon Brooks (left hand) were both out for the Suns.
Derrick White led the way with 22 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Neemias Queta added 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Baylor Scheierman had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Collin Gillespie scored 15 points for the Suns while Grayson Allen had 14.
The Celtics wrap up their four-game road trip on a back-to-back, facing the Nuggets at 10 p.m. Wednesday in Denver . Here are four takeaways from Boston ’s win over Phoenix:
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Defense steps up:The Celtics’ defensive rating continues to improve as the season goes along, and they showed why Tuesday. The Suns struggled with their shot-making, but the C’s defense gets credit. The Suns scored just 35 points in the second half, shooting 36.7% from the field on the night. Notably, the Celtics took 95 field goals attempts compared to the Suns’ 79, winning the margins despite an inefficient night themselves.
Getting the start:With no Brown, the Celtics went with Ron Harper Jr. for his second start of the season. Harper showed some life, especially on the offensive glass, finishing with eight points and five rebounds in 30 minutes. The shots didn’t go down as he went 3-for-10 from the field, including 2-for-7 on 3-pointers, but it was still a nice night overall for the two-way player. Harper added a nice block on a Suns fast break that resulted in the Celtics getting a fast-break bucket going the other way.
Awry challenge: Jordan Walsh was called for a foul on Grayson Allen on a 3-pointer, and Walsh was adamant he didn’t tough Allen. He asked the Celtics bench to challenge the call, which they did. However, Walsh hit Allen’s elbow on the replay, which resulted in an unsuccessful challenge. Walsh didn’t play the rest of the night after the 2:36 mark in the second quarter, finishing with five points and four rebounds in nine minutes.
Staying perfect:The Celtics had a four-game road trip after the All-Star break, playing against West teams with a winning record. They’re 3-0 thus far, including winning each game by double-digits. Their toughest test will be the Nuggets on the second game of a back-to-back, but the Celtics have impressed throughout this trip.
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