Phoenix Suns remain unbeaten against Boston Celtics, 88 - 71
Phoenix Suns push the Boston Celtics down in an 88-71 loss at the US Airways Centre, Phoenix, AZ. More than 18,000 fans attended the game and watched as the Suns outshined the Celtics into a 17-point loss.
Marcin Gortat scored a whopping double-double as he scored 19 points and 17 rebounds.
Highlights
Phoenix Suns made a powerful start on defence and unleashed their offence on the Boston Celtics early, going 5-2 at the 10:06 mark in the initial quarter.
Vince Carter committed a shooting foul giving the Lakers two free throws and Kevin Garnett’s jump shot gave the Celtics a one-point lead, 6-5 initially.
Phoenix tied the scores at 6-all and then took the lead back. The Suns built a good resolve and Boston followed. At 4:36 mark, the Suns had built a 9-point lead over Celtics, 19-10.
Gortat’s three-pointer was the final shot of the first quarter and the Suns took a whopping 14 point lead over the opposition, 30-16.
Boston still faltered at the start of second quarter and even the Suns did not play with the same strength. The Celtics tried to take hold of the shots that came their way but missed most of them.
Coach Doc Rivers committed two technical fouls at the same time on the 4:33 mark and Steve Nash posted both technical free throws provided, furthering the scores, 42-25. The Suns went 49-35, outscoring Boston at the end of the second quarter.
Things changed a little for Boston in the third quarter, as they closed the gap to just 10 points at the 5:26 mark in the third quarter, going 50-60.
Carter clinched three consecutive shots scoring five more to go 15-points past the Boston Celtics in their 15-point run.
Boston knew that they were deteriorating but Paul Pierce jumped ahead to hold the reins of the game for his team and responded with three consecutive shots to close the deficit at 54-65.
Carter and Mickael Pietrus shot two three-pointers in a row and made it 75-58.
The fourth quarter did not have many shots coming from both teams. The Celtics played with a meager defense and committed a number of fouls that gave the Suns seven free throws in the final quarter.
Boston Celtics were reduced to an 88-71 loss at the end of a game that was very much expected to be won by Phoenix Suns, considering the way they played right from the start.
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