Game Recap: Celtics’ barrage of threes proves too much for Suns to handle in 132-102 loss

The Suns were outgunned and outclassed in lopsided loss to Celtics.

The defending champs rolled into Phoenix on Wednesday night, and the Boston Celtics didn’t just win. They left wreckage in their wake. No Jayson Tatum? No problem. This was a full-scale demolition job, a masterclass in organized chaos, with an entire battalion of sharpshooters raining destruction from beyond the arc. By the time the dust settled, Boston had buried the Suns under a barrage of 22 three-pointers, walking out of the nameless arena with a 132-102 victory.

The Celtics’ firing squad was merciless, launching artillery with machine-like efficiency—50% from the field, 42% from deep. Nine different Celtics drilled a three. When the Phoenix Suns’ offense sputtered in the second quarter, Boston didn’t just take advantage, they detonated the game entirely.

Kevin Durant did his best to keep Phoenix breathing, pouring in 30 points on 11-of-16 shooting, a masterful performance lost in the wreckage. The rest of the Suns? A brutal 25-of-71 from the field. Kristaps Porzingis matched Durant’s 30-piece with ruthless efficiency, going 10-of-15 with four threes. Jaylen Brown and Derrick White added four deep bombs of their own, as Boston finished a staggering +27 from beyond the arc.

The loss drops the Suns to 35-38, tied with the Dallas Mavericks for the 10th seed in the Western Conference. The Play-In looms, the margin for error evaporates, and the Suns are left to pick themselves up from the ruins.

Game Flow

First Half

If you thought three-pointers weren’t going to be a factor, well, that’s on you. The Boston Celtics wasted no time proving otherwise, drilling 4-of-5 from beyond the arc before most fans even had a chance to get cozy with their Wetzel’s Pretzels. Just 4:20 into the game, every Celtics starter had already splashed a three, as the team casually opened 7-of-9 from deep. At that point, I should’ve just put my notebook down and accepted my fate.

Phoenix took Boston’s early three-point barrage on the chin and punched right back. The Suns answered with an 8-0 run, splashing in a few threes of their own, while Kevin Durant came out scorching—4-of-4 for nine quick points.

It took until the 3:55 mark in the first quarter for the Celtics to finally get their first two-point bucket, a smooth finger roll from Jrue Holiday. By then, they had already drained 10 threes, fueling a monster 42-point opening quarter. But the Suns didn’t flinch. They kept pace, dropping 38 of their own behind a blistering 16-point start from KD.

After the three-point shootout in the first quarter, both teams went ice cold to start the second, clanking their way to a combined 1-of-11 start from the field. The Suns were especially frigid, missing their first five shots. Cody Martin does a lot of things well for Phoenix. Shooting threes is absolutely not one of them.

With Kevin Durant catching a breather for the first six minutes, the Suns were a -5 without him, but at least he got some much-needed rest. Devin Booker did his best to keep things afloat, mixing in scoring and playmaking, finishing the half with 9 points and 6 assists.

Meanwhile, Boston refused to take their foot off the gas. Once the Suns’ shots stopped falling, the Celtics turned a competitive game into a full-on beatdown, ballooning their lead to 25 before halftime.

The Celtics put on a clinic from beyond the arc in the first half, drilling 14-of-32 threes while outscoring the Suns 31-16 in the second quarter. They had four players in double figures, only coughed up the ball twice, and saw seven different guys knock down a three. Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis each hit three, while Al Horford, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser drained two apiece.

The Suns? They hit four threes total.

By halftime, Boston had turned the game into a laugher, heading to the locker room up 73-54.

How should I sum up the first half? Easily.

Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three. Three.

Second Half

The beatdown rolled right into the third, like a sequel nobody asked for. Phoenix had no answer — no counterpunch, no magic adjustment, not even a lucky break — to slow down the Celtics’ relentless, shape-shifting offense. Boston outscored the Suns 37-27 in the quarter, hitting a ridiculous 57% from the field, as Kristaps Porzingis casually dropped 15 points.

Kevin Durant did his best to keep things somewhat respectable, adding 10 of his own, as both he and Porzingis crossed the 30-point mark.

The Suns were getting worked. The scoreboard read 110-81 at the end of three.

The fourth quarter happened. And then the Suns lost.

Up Next

The homestand is officially in the books, and now the Suns hit the road…for exactly one game. They’ll head up to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves, who currently sit in the 8th seed out West, comfortably ahead of the Kings by 5.5 games. No chance of catching them in the standings, but Minny is in a dogfight to escape the Play-In with the Clippers and Warriors breathing down their necks. They’ll be locked in and ready.

We’ll see you then, my fellow Bright Siders.

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