Jaylen Brown scored 37 points in a dominant offensive performance for the Boston Celtics, who beat the Phoenix Suns 127-112 on Thursday.
Brown, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford, the three figures of the green franchise, combined for 87 points against one of the most renowned ‘Big 3’ in the NBA, which is made up of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal.
Tatum finished with 26 points and Horford with 24 to secure a victory that brings Boston closer to securing first place in the Eastern Conference and home field advantage in the playoffs.
Boston bombed the Suns with 25 of 50 three-point attempts, while Phoenix only connected on 11 of 31.
Durant had 20 points, with a statistic of 9-19 from the field, while Booker scored 23 and Bradley Beal another 22.
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Boston has the best record in the NBA (52-14) with a 9.5-win advantage over the second-ranked team in the East, the Milwaukee Bucks (43-24).
Phoenix, for its part, fell to 38-28 and is eighth in the West, out of direct access to the playoffs.
Suns coach Frank Vogel admitted his team isn’t at Boston’s level, but insisted they still have room for improvement before the playoffs start in April.
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“We are not where they are yet,” he acknowledged. “But that’s the key word: still.”
“We are going to continue growing, we are going to continue improving. We are in our first year together; those guys have been together for eight years or something like that,” said the former Lakers coach.
In another of Thursday’s six games, the Bucks came back in the fourth quarter to defeat the Philadelphia 76ers 114-105.
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The Sixers, even without the injured Joel Embiid, had a 10-point lead at the beginning of the third quarter, but ended up giving in to the final push of the team of Giannis Antetokounmpo (32 points) and Damian Lillard (17).
— Thursday’s NBA results:
Boston Celtics – Phoenix Suns 127-112
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Chicago Bulls – LA Clippers 111-126
Houston Rockets – Washington Wizards 135-119
Milwaukee Bucks – Philadelphia 76ers 114-105
In Game:
Oklahoma City Thunder – Dallas Mavericks
Portland Trail Blazers – NY Knicks
2024-03-15 03:15:37
#Celtics #Defeat #Phoenixs #AllStar #Trio
