Suns flame runs out against Celtics despite another Durant 30-point night

Mar 26, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) calls out a play against the Boston Celtics during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

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PHOENIX — Benches were emptied midway through the fourth quarter of the Phoenix Suns’ 132-102 blowout at the hands of the defending champion Boston Celtics despite Kevin Durant putting together another masterful night.

Durant continues the stretch that got him a Western Conference Player of the Week award last week with his third straight 30-plus point night. He came into Wednesday having scored 80 points over his prior two games and added 30 more against the Celtics on astounding efficiency — 11-of-16 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

However, the 15-time All-Star got little-to-no reinforcements. Devin Booker followed him in scoring with just 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting but continued his playmaking hot streak with 10 assists. The only other Sun to finish with double-digits scoring was Nick Richards with 10 points.

Phoenix’s depth production pales in comparison to Boston’s, which was without its MVP candidate Jayson Tatum, led by Kristaps Porzingis with 30 points and eight rebounds. Five other Celtics scored in double figures — Jaylen Brown (24), Al Horford, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday (each with 16) and Sam Hauser (11).

This loss ends the Suns’ home stand and they travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves on Friday. Phoenix (35-38) is ½ games behind the Sacramento Kings (35-37) for the No. 9 seed; they take on the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Boston tirade continues in 3rd quarter

Kristaps Porzingis continued his obliteration of Phoenix, scoring 13 points in the third quarter and bringing his night total up to 30 points to continue Boston’s beatdown ahead of the final quarter, 108-81.

Possibly the only bright side of the blowout is that Kevin Durant continues to play some of the best basketball of his career, trying Porzingis for a game-high 30 points through three periods on 11-of-16 shooting and 3-of-4 from 3-point range. After Durant, the fall off is bleak. Devin Booker made just four field goals in 11 attempts for 13 points and eight assists. Nick Richards was the only other Sun to score in double figures.

Boston’s depth continues to shine in Jayson Tatum’s absence. Behind Porzingis’ 30 points, Jaylen Brown put up 24 points and five assists that included a ferocious dunk over Suns rookie Ryan Dunn midway through the period. Phoenix had no answer defensively for the pace and space of the Celtics’ offense.

Celtics deflate Suns in 2nd quarter

The defending champs stuck true to their reputation and absolutely deflated Phoenix in the second quarter, outscoring them 31-16 to take a commanding 73-54 halftime lead behind 10 second quarter Jaylen Brown points.

Kevin Durant continues to be the only Sun able to get anything going consistently on offense. he led the Suns with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the first half and was the only one on the team to score in double figures. Devin Booker trailed him with nine points, five rebounds and six assists and just seven shot attempts.

Compare that to Boston having four players score in double figures in the first half, led by Kristaps Porzingis with 17 points and six rebounds on 6-of-9 shooting. Brown put up 10 points in the second quarter, bringing his total up to 16 in the half. Jrue Holiday and Al Horford flanked them with 11 and 10 points respectively.

Suns withstand Celtics 3-point flurry in 1st quarter

Boston got off to a 21-9 start on Phoenix where every point came from beyond the arc. The Suns withstood that run by going on a 13-2 run of their own to cut the lead to 23-22, Celtics. Both offenses exploded in the opening quarter and Boston came out on top, 42-38.

Kevin Durant continued his impressive offensive stretch with a 16-point first quarter against the defending champs on 6-of-8 shooting. Devin Booker has been finding a playmaking groove recently and had five assists in the period to go along with his five points on 2-of-4 shooting.

Ten of Boston’s 14 field goal makes in the first quarter were 3-pointers. Its first seven field goals were from deep. The Celtics were led by Kristaps Porzingis’ nine points on 3-of-3 shooting from deep and Jrue Holiday’s nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Phoenix opted for Oso Ighodaro at the center position to increase perimeter switchability and mitigate Boston’s potential perimeter threats. Perimeter versatility is Ighodaro’s strength over Nick Richards.

Injury report

Bradley Beal was Phoenix’s only active roster player on the injury report. Beal will miss his fifth consecutive game with a left hamstring strain. His re-evaluation date was set for Monday, but coach Mike Budenholzer told the media that he is still progressing.

The Celtics had to play just their seventh game without MVP candidate Jayson Tatum who was officially listed out ahead of the game with a left ankle sprain suffered from landing on Sacramento Kings big man Domantas Sabonis while shooting a jump shot on Monday. Xavier Tillman (left knee joint sprain) was also out.

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Reporter Connor Moreno covers the Phoenix Suns for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @cmorenoNBA, and on Bluesky, @cloading.bsky.social