PHOENIX (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 29 points, Jaylen Brown added 27 and the NBA-leading Boston Celtics beat the Phoenix Suns 117-107 on Saturday night.
The Celtics came into the game on a rare two-game skid after dropping games to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Denver Nuggets. After Saturday’s win, Boston still hasn’t lost three in a row and improved to 49-14 overall.
The Suns — playing without injured All-Star Devin Booker — were led by Kevin Durant’s 45 points on 18-for-26 shooting. Bradley Beal added 25 points while Jusuf Nurkic scored 11 and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Brown scored 18 points to lead the Celtics to a 62-50 halftime advantage and they never trailed in the second half.
The Suns fought back in the third quarter and Durant’s transition 3-pointer cut Boston’s lead to 77-74 with 3:54 left, but Jrue Holiday responded with a 3 and the Celtics took an 87-78 lead into the final quarter.
Boston’s Payton Pritchard and Tatum hit back-to-back 3s to start the fourth. Al Horford hit a corner 3-pointer with 1:54 left to put the Celtics up 110-102.
The Celtics got good production from their bench — particularly Luke Kornet and Pritchard. The 7-foot-1 Kornet had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while Pritchard scored 10.
Boston starter Kristaps Porzingis missed the game with right hamstring tightness.
Booker missed his fourth straight game with a sprained ankle. The four-time All-Star has returned to the floor for practice as he nears his expected return.
The Suns came into the game as the No. 6 team in the crowded Western Conference race and are trying to stay out of the postseason play-in tournament. The top six seeds in each conference automatically move to the first best-of-seven round.
UP NEXT
Celtics: At Portland on Monday.
Suns: At Cleveland on Monday.
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