Jaylen Brown made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 37 points to help the Boston Celtics extend their winning streak to four games with a 127-112 decision against the visiting Phoenix Suns on Thursday.
Jayson Tatum added 26 for Boston, which shot 25 of 50 from behind the 3-point arc. Al Horford tossed in six 3-pointers and finished with a season-high 24 points. The Celtics (52-14) also received 10 assists and nine points from Jrue Holiday.
Boston, which improved to 30-3 at home, has won 15 of its past 17 games.
Devin Booker scored a team-high 23 points for the Suns. He was in his second game back from an ankle injury that kept him out of four games, including Phoenix’s 117-107 home loss to Boston on Saturday.
Phoenix (38-28) received 22 points from Bradley Beal plus 20 from both Kevin Durant and Grayson Allen. Jusuf Nurkic collected 20 rebounds, the top single-game total for a Celtics opponent this season.
The Suns lost despite having a 51-33 advantage in rebounds, as they were outscored 75-33 from 3-point range.
Boston center Kristaps Porzingis missed his fourth straight game with a right hamstring strain. Before the game, Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Porzingis was improving but there was no timetable for his return.
Phoenix bolted to a 26-18 lead, but Boston closed the first quarter hot and led 35-32 after 12 minutes.
Bol Bol capped a 19-9 run with a 3-pointer that put the Suns in front 51-50 with 4:58 to play in the second quarter. Boston made 12 of its 24 3-point attempts in the first half, however, and led 65-60 at halftime.
A 9-0 run gave the Celtics a 77-65 lead with 8:50 to play in the third, the first time either team led by double digits. Boston stretched its advantage to 95-75 on a Horford 3-pointer with 2:45 left in the third. The Celtics had a 102-85 edge heading into the fourth.
–Field Level Media