The clash between conference leaders ends with a embarrassing 98-125 for Boston
Those from Arizona give up first place in the West to the Pelicans after falling resoundingly against the ‘Proud Greens’
On paper, this Wednesday in the NBA featured a very sharp duel between the leaders of the East and the West, but in the end there was only one team on the track: the boston celticswho humiliated the phoenix suns with an impressive demonstration of authority and power (98-125). The statistics brutally reflected the magnitude of the beating, with some Celtics who, halfway through the third quarter, were already winning by 45 points (49-94). Beyond the huge outrage, the Celtics (21-5), who have three consecutive victories at home, made it clear that at this time -and with the permission of the Milwaukee Bucks- they are the great rival to beat in the NBA. The Suns (16-9), despite the return of Chris Paul after a month injured, melted like an ice cube in the Arizona desert and lost the lead in the West to the New Orleans Pelicans (16-8).
Saving the distances and taking into account that it is only one more game of the regular season, the impotence, the incapacity and the astonishing lack of reaction of Phoenix recalled their historic debacle last season in the seventh game of the Western semifinal against the Dallas Mavericks. Instead, the Boston exhibition was overwhelming, with an endless catalog of resources and with a fully-oiled machine both in attack and defense. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, with 25 points per head in less than 30 minutes on the court, were once again an unstoppable couple. But, above all, Joe Mazzulla’s team, who could not count on the Dominican Al Horford due to the coronavirus protocol, dazzled with the winning character and commitment of all its players: Grant Williams (14 points), Malcolm Brogdon (16 points), Blake Griffin, Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Luke Kornet… Devin Booker added 17 points in a Suns who had also lost clearly to Dallas (130-111). In the first three periods, before Phoenix slightly made up the score in the fourth quarter (33-21), Boston made 52.6% of their field goals (36.6% of the Suns) and 39.4 % of his triples (16.7% of his rivals).
Horror in Phoenix
The night did not point to a setback for the Suns, since they started the game with great intensity in both baskets, but the Celtics did not take long to react, so much so that by the end of the first quarter they had already scored seven of their nine players who had stepped on the clue. An eloquent 2-17 run in just four minutes left Boston with +10 after the first period (21-31). The Suns began to fracture into a thousand pieces since their terrible 0-of-8 3-pointer in the first quarter. From there things would only get worse for the locals. The Celtics dominated the rebounds, hunted the split balls, arrived an instant before each play and, in short, were a gigantic distance from the Suns in terms of energy, accuracy and chemistry.
The alarms went off early in Phoenix with a 24-40 with 9:15 to rest. Four minutes later, the Suns were already losing by 22 due to a triple by Derrick White (30-52). Scoring 13 points in the second quarter, Brown led the Celtics’ irresistible and devastating attack as a frustrated Booker committed his fourth foul before closing out the first half. The halftime marker (42-69) explained the Celtics’ wiggle to the Suns as well as Phoenix’s ridiculous 1-of-15 3-pointer.
Ravenous and insatiable, the Celtics came back from intermission as if the game was even, and Tatum took over from Brown on offense. Candidate with capital letters for MVP, Tatum shone with several triples and precious ‘fade away’ for Boston to overcome barriers without ruffling: first the 30-point lead, then the 35, then the 40… In the end, the biggest difference was from +45 with 5.30 left in the third quarter, a moment in which Monty Williams brought out the white flag, retired all his starters and surrendered before the overwhelming recital of the Celtics in Phoenix.