Mar 26, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) reacts after a foul call against the Boston Celtics during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images / Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
PHOENIX — The Phoenix Suns (35-38) had their four-game winning streak snapped Wednesday night at PHX Arena, as the defending-champion Boston Celtics (54-19) blew out Phoenix 132-102 in a wire-to-wire victory.
The Celtics offense was too much to handle for the Suns, as Boston converted 22-of-52 (42.3%) 3-pointers, including 10 alone in the first quarter, compared to just 13-of-41 (31.7%) 3-point shooting for Phoenix.
Bradley Beal missed his fifth-straight game for the Suns with a left hamstring strain, while Jayson Tatum was downgraded to out shortly before tip-off after spraining his ankle in the Celtics’ win over Sacramento Kings Monday.
Kevin Durant had another masterful game for Phoenix with 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting. Devin Booker recorded his third-straight double-double with 14 points (4-13 FG), 10 assists and seven rebounds, but the Suns’ supporting cast did not offer much help.
Kristaps Porzingis led Boston with 30 points and eight rebounds, while Jaylen Brown was right behind him with 24 points and five assists. Jrue Holiday (16 points), Al Horford (16 points and 10 rebounds), Derrick White (16 points and 7 assists) and Sam Hauser (11 points) also had double-digit scoring nights for the Celtics.
With the loss, the Suns remained tied with the Dallas Mavericks for the 10th seed (final play-in spot) in the Western Conference.
The Celtics came out of the gates on a 9-2 run and firing from deep with their first eight made shots coming from 3 (on 13 attempts). However, the Suns kept pace with them for the majority of the first quarter behind 16 points from Durant and five points, five assists and three rebounds from Booker. The Celtics led 42-38 at the end of the quarter, as they had five players with five or more points and shot 10-of-17 from 3.
Boston outscored the Suns 31-16 in the second quarter, holding Phoenix to 5-of-19 (26.3%) shooting from the field and 0-for-9 shooting from 3 in the period to extend its lead to 73-54 at halftime. Porzingis (17 points), Brown (16 points), Holiday (11 points) and Horford (10 points) were all in double figures for the Celtics, while Durant had a game-high 20 points (7-10 FG) for the Suns.
The Boston onslaught continued after halftime, as the Celtics’ lead grew to as many as 34 points in the third quarter, and they led 108-81 going into the fourth. Porzingis scored 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the third for Boston, and Durant recorded 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting for Phoenix.
The game did not get any closer in the fourth with the Celtics beginning the quarter on a 10-3 run. Both teams emptied their benches with 6:07 to go, and Boston cruised to victory.
The Suns go on the road for one game to take on Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
Published 8 Minutes Ago|Modified 12:36 AM EDT
