The Boston Celtics defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-112 on Monday night, led by Jaylen Brown's 41 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter. Jayson Tatum contributed 21 points in his fifth game back from an Achilles tendon injury. Devin Booker scored 40 for the Suns, who have lost back-to-back games after snapping a four-game winning streak.
Key Takeaways
The Boston Celtics defeated the Phoenix Suns 120-112 as Jaylen Brown scored 41 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter. Jayson Tatum contributed 21 points in his fifth game back from an Achilles injury.
- Jaylen Brown scores 41 points to lead Celtics past Suns
- Jayson Tatum returns with 21 points after Achilles recovery
- Devin Booker leads Suns with 40 points in losing effort
- Boston outscores Phoenix 12 of last 13 points
Derrick White, who was presented with February's Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month Award before the game, had 21 points for Boston. Payton Pritchard scored 19. With less than four minutes left and Boston trailing by three points (111-108), Brown stole the ball from Booker and fed it to Tatum for a layup. After a Phoenix miss, Brown rebounded Tatum's miss to give Boston the lead, then added two free throws and a short jumper to complete an 8-0 Celtics run.
The Celtics scored 12 of the game's last 13 points to pull away. The Suns had lost to Toronto on Friday after giving up a 23-5 run in the fourth quarter to blow a 10-point lead. Tatum missed Boston's first 62 games while recovering from a torn Achilles suffered in last year's playoffs.
Earlier this week, Tatum played a season-high 32 minutes and scored 20 points with 14 rebounds, helping the Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 111-100 on Saturday night. Neemias Queta had 24 points and 10 rebounds in that game, which sent the Wizards to their 11th straight loss.
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