Game Recap: 45-point Durant masterclass wasted as he receives little help in 117-107 loss to the Celtics

The Phoenix Suns welcomed the top team in the NBA on Saturday night to downtown Phoenix. There was plenty of green in the stands as the Boston Celtics took the court. It was their first matchup of the season, with the second coming this upcoming Thursday in Bean Town.

The Celtics snapped their two-game losing streak along with the Suns' two-game winning streak, winning 117-107.

Injuries to primary players occurred on both sides of the ball, as both Devin Booker and Kristpas Porzingus were listed as “out” for the game. It is the fourth game Book has missed since injuring his ankle.

Kevin Durant scored 45 points for the Suns, doing so on an efficient 18-of-26 shooting from the field. Bradley Beal added 25 points. Jusuf Nurkic had 11 points and 11 rebounds, but the Celtics bench outscored that of Phoenix 27-16. Kevin Durant did all he could to keep the Suns afloat. Bol Bol was the only member of the bench squad to make any impact, scoring 13.

Derrick White was a difference-maker in this game. His defensive flexibility, ability to close out on three-point shooters, and cerebral effectiveness navigating the pick-and-roll truly hurt the Suns. He had 10 points and 9 assists. Couple him with Jrue Holiday in the Celtic backcourt, and it’s easy to see why Boston has one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.

Jayson Tatum had an off night relative to shooting, hitting 11-of-28 shots for 29 points. Jaylen Brown had 27 points and Luke Kornet had 14 off of the bench.

You can’t beat the best team in the NBA if you turn the ball over and allow offense rebounds. 15 turnovers led to 16 Celtics’ points and the Suns permitted 17 second chance points.

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Game Flow

First Half

Boos and cheers filled the Footprint Center during the pregame lineup announcements. Celtics fans travel well, especially when it’s 70° in March.

Jusuf Nurkic went to work early, scoring 5 points on the interior while grabbing 5 boards. No Prozingus allowed the Suns to switch into favorable matchups. 10 of the Suns’ first 14 points came in the paint.

Jaylen Brown led the offensive charge for Boston early, scoring 7 of the Celtics’ first 14. Derrick White and Luke Kornet had a good two-man going as well, picking on Eric Gordon and Jusuf Nurkic on back-to-back possessions. Brown was assessed a technical foul as things were getting chippy between he and the officiating crew.

Saben Lee is still getting minutes, and his start tonight was not pretty. A couple of line-drive missed three-pointers, an offensive foul. and getting blocked by Jrue Holiday. Kevin Durant took the lion's share of shots, hitting 5-of-10 from the field and leading the Suns in first-quarter scoring with 12 points.

Both teams had a hard shot dialing in the three-ball, combining to go 3-of-14 from deep. Jayson Tatum did connect on a difficult step-back three-pointer over KD, however.

Brown had 8, Tatum had 7, and the Celtics led after one quarter, 31-26.

Bol Bol opened the second with a wide-open three-pointer, followed by a rebound, that ignited the home crowd.

The Celtics responded with their three-point shooting. The Celtics lead the league in three-point makes and attempts with the fourth-best three-point percentage. Sam Hauser, Jaylen Brown, and Jrue Holiday hit super shots and the Celtics pushed their lead to 9 points. The Boston bench outscored the Suns 15-5 early.

Boston extended their lead as the Suns allowed offensive rebounds, turned the ball over, and had a hard time hitting their shots. Credit the Celtics' defense for their tenacious pressure as well as their willingness to play an outside-in type of game. Brown abused Beal consistently on the block, backing him down en route to 18 first-half points.

8 second-chance points by the Celtics in the second quarter, coupled with their 5-of-12 shooting from deep, had them up 62-50 at the half. Tatum was 3-of-11 from the field, Kevin Durant had 20 points, and Beal was 4-of-11 for 12 points.

Second Half

The Suns opened the third focused on shooting the three-ball; they were just 3-of-11 from deep in the first half. They started on a 10-3 run, closing the deficit to 5 points behind three-pointers from Beal and Durant, with Nurk adding a nice tip-in to help the run.

Kevin Durant has a nice ‘lil posterization at the midway point of the third, going through Derrick White for a dunk.

It didn’t take long for the Celtics to earn their 12-point lead back. Phoenix continued to shoot threes but weren’t connecting. Royce O’Neale was 0-of-6 from the field and 0-of-4 from beyond the arc through two-and-a-half quarters.

Phoenix had a 9-0 run to close the gap to three points, 77-74.

Durant had 12 points in the third and the Suns outscored the Celtics 28-25 in the quarter. The Celtics closed the quarter on a 10-4 run and went to the fourth with an 87-78 lead.

Boston opened on an 11-6 run, which meant that once the Suns got within three points, the Celtics responded with a 21-10 run.

“Let’s go Celtics” chants began when the C’s took their largest lead of 15 points.

Bol Bol was the offensive firepower at the beginning of the fourth quarter, scoring 6 points in his four minutes played. O’Neale scored his first points of the game with 6:48 left, finally hitting a three on his sixth attempt.

Durant continued his lethal shooting, hitting a pair of three-point shots to pull within 8, making his 40th point with just over 4 minutes left in the game. A KD and-1 got the Suns within 5 points with 3:55 left, 107-102.

An Al Horford three put Boston up 110-102 with 1:54 left after the Suns failed to capitalize on consecutive possessions. The Celtics went up 10 points on the next possession, and they Phoenix faithful began heading for the exits.

Celtics win,

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Up Next

The Suns head out on the road for a four-game trip, making their first stop in Cleveland on Monday before battling these Celtics in Boston next Thursday, Yeah. It doesn’t get any easier.

We’ll see you then Bright Siders!