Phoenix Suns vs. Boston Celtics: Blowout Becomes a Bit Too Close for Comfort
In the first two minutes of the game tonight in Boston, the Phoenix Suns took an 8-6 lead.
Ray Allen tied it at eight on a jump shot at the 10-minute mark, and the Suns would never be ahead again.
Kevin Garnett got off to a fast start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter on 5-of-5 shooting. Garnett went on to score 28 points in the game, all in the first three periods, to lead all Celtics. He also tallied 11 rebounds to continue his double-double run.
Garnett was not alone in the double-double category. Both Paul Pierce (16 PTS, 14 REB) and Rajon Rondo (16 PTS, 15 AST) joined KG on the night, while Glen Davis (14 PTS, 8 REB) wasn't far off.
All five Celtics starters reached double figures.
At the end of the first the Celtics had jumped out to a 30-21 lead, and by halftime they'd continued to build on it. As the teams walked to their locker rooms the score showed Boston up by 20, 62-42.
A little over halfway through the third period, a scary moment happened when Phoenix’s Vince Carter and Channing Frye smashed heads. Both went down in a heap, with Carter not moving as the game went to commercial. Each man was able to leave the court on his own, but neither would return to the game.
With 3:28 remaining in the quarter, Garnett sank his second free throw (his last point of night) to give the Celtics a 29-point lead, 88-59.
Game over, right? Wrong.
As the Celtics scored their 91st point with under two minutes to go in the third, something strange happened. Boston went cold, and the Suns went, well, hot.
For nearly a five-minute stretch spanning the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth, the Suns went on an 18-0 run, cutting the Celtics' lead to 91-81 (Thanks to Patrick Clarke, for correcting my error).
Led by bench players Aaron Brooks (17 PTS), Jared Dudley (15 PTS) and Marcin Gortat (13 PTS, 13 REB), the Suns were able to pull within eight at 93-85, but that was as close as they'd get. The Celtics pulled away for a 115-103 win.
The victory wasn't without drama.
In the final minute, "Big Baby" Davis came down awkwardly on his left knee after a dunk and had to exit; an MRI was scheduled after the game. Rondo decided to throw up a three with a second to go in the contest, and was fouled by Dudley as the game became a bit hostile at the end.
The Celtics are now 3-0 during the "Jeff Green Era," and for the third consecutive game the best player Boston received in the deal wasn't Green. Nenad Krstic had 13 points and four boards on the night, while Green put in six with one rebound.
