Marcus Smart put together the best 3-point shooting night in Celtics history on Saturday night, knocking down 11 3-pointers on 21 attempts to post a career-high 37 points. It wasn't close to enough for Boston victory.
The Celtics came stumbling out of the gates for the third straight game on Saturday night and couldn't dig themselves out of a hole yet again. With Jaylen Brown and Kemba Walker watching from the sidelines, the Celtics looked overmatched for the better part of 48 minutes en route to their third straight loss and sixth in their last eight overall. Boston trailed by as many as 16 points in the first quarter and fell behind again by double digits in the closing minutes before a frantic 10-0 in the final two minutes made things interesting late. However, a blown layup by Gordon Hayward (22 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists) in the final 30 seconds sealed the defeat.
Boston had no answer for Devin Booker (39 points) all night while Mikal Bridges added a career-high 26 points. The Suns shot 41.9 percent from 3-point range and 26-of-30 from the line, punishing the C's all night long for their mistakes and double teams of Booker.
The road gets no easier for Boston now with the Lakers coming to town on Monday night.
WHO: Celtics (27-13) vs. Suns (17-24)
WHEN: 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: NBC Sports Boston
Celtics
PG: Brad Wanamaker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Gordon Hayward
C: Daniel Theis
Suns
G: Ricky Rubio
G: Devin Booker
F: Mikal Bridges
F: Dario Saric
C: DeAndre Ayton
Pregame Notes
- Jaylen Brown will miss his second straight game with a sprained thumb but Brad Stevens does not think it will be a long-term absence: “He’s getting a lot better. They went into last night thinking there was a chance he would play, but he’s not going to play. The scans didn’t show anything from a tear standpoint. It’s a sprain. Still got a little swelling, but we’ll see,” Stevens said.
- Kemba Walker (sore knee) and Daniel Theis (sore knee) are both questionable for the matchup while Marcus Smart expects to play despite spraining his ankle on Wednesday. Rob Williams remains sidelined indefinitely.
- The Suns have won three of their last four games overall but will be without starting small forward Kelly Oubre Jr. due to a concussion. Frank Kaminsky (leg) is also out while rookie shooter Cam Johnson is questionable.
- Lots of positive talk on Saturday morning about ex-Celtic Aron Baynes who will make his return as a visitor to Boston for the first time since being traded in June: “Baynes is great," Stevens said. "I can’t say enough great things about him. It was a sad day for me when we traded him. I obviously understood all the reasons behind it, but great impact in our locker room, great impact on the court, great impact on our coaching staff. Just, like, a pro’s pro. And all-time energy. One of the best energy raisers I’ve ever been around.”