In the absence of Devin Booker, the Phoenix Suns struggled to overcome the top-seeded Boston Celtics, resulting in a loss with a final score of 117-107.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!From the 1st quarter onwards, the Suns were consistently trailing, unable to gain the upper hand.
Their comeback efforts were thwarted by poor shooting from the three-point line and a number of turnovers.
Notably, Grayson Allen, who had previously made 8 three-pointers in consecutive games, failed to replicate his success, going 0-4 from beyond the arc and finishing with just 7 points and three turnovers. Royce O’Neale also had a difficult night, shooting 1-9 overall, including missing five of his three-point attempts.
As a team, the Suns managed a mere 30.0% from three-point range, hitting only 9 out of 30 attempts. Excluding Durant and Beal, Phoenix shot 2-16 from deep.
The bench contributed a scant 15 points, with 13 of those coming from Bol Bol. Drew Eubanks, Eric Gordon, and Saben Lee, despite playing a combined total of 37 minutes, ended the game without scoring.
If it were not for Kevin Durant, who carried the workload with a season-high 45 points on 18-26 shooting, the Suns would have been up against a much larger deficit.
Phoenix managed to reduce the lead to 5 points on multiple occasions, including early in the 3rd quarter and then again with less than 4 minutes remaining in the 4th. Of course, KD was at the forefront of these comebacks.
However, with minimal support and Jayson Tatum catching fire, the Suns couldn’t narrow the gap further. Tatum had 22 points in the 2nd half.
The turning point came after Eric Gordon missed a wide-open three, leading to Al Horford sinking one of his own and pushing the Celtics’ lead back to 8. Horford had been 0-6 from downtown until then.
Next, the Suns face another tough challenge as they take on the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at 4:30. This marks the beginning of a four-game road trip for Phoenix.
