BOSTON — — Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla has a team rule that everyone contests shots, even after the whistle. Players, coaches – everyone.
So when Mazzulla sprinted to prevent Phoenix’s Royce O’Neale from falling into a practice basket before a timeout, it didn’t shock Jayson Tatum.
“Just Joe being Joe,” the All-Star said.
It’s a mentality that continues to permeate the Celtics as the NBA’s best team continues to rack up wins — and now a playoff berth.
Jaylen Brown scored 37 points, Tatum added 26 and Boston beat the Phoenix Suns 127-112 on Thursday night, becoming the first team to clinch a playoff spot.
Al Horford finished with 24 points, including six of Boston’s season-high 25 3-pointers to help the Celtics beat the Suns for the second time in a week. Boston improved to an NBA record 52-14 this season and 10-2 in the second game of a row.
Brown said his performance was a microcosm of how he tried to attack everything this season — making sure not to repeat the same mistakes that contributed to his team failing to reach its championship goal.
This includes a season-long focus on improving his abilities as a playmaker.
“I just attacked my weaknesses,” Brown said. “I feel like some of the things you said about me last year can’t be said about me this year.”
In their two wins against the Suns, the Celtics combined for 40 3-pointers.
“They’re the best in the league,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “It’s difficult to keep. You talk about all the ways you try to limit it. We did our best with this. But we didn’t do enough tonight.
Devin Booker led the Suns with 23 points. Bradley Beal finished with 22 points and seven assists. Kevin Durant and Grayson Allen both added 20 points.
Boston won despite the absence of Kristaps Porzingis, who missed his fourth straight game with a strained right hamstring. It remains day to day.
Last week, the Celtics dominated a Suns team playing without Booker (ankle) in a double-digit victory in Phoenix, despite a 45-point night from Durant.
Durant came out hot again in Thursday’s rematch. But Booker started slowly before finishing 9 of 20 from the field. Meanwhile, the All-Star duo of Tatum and Brown combined for 43 of the Celtics’ 65 points in the first half.
Tatum was in attack mode for most of the first 24 minutes, leading a Celtics burst just before halftime by scoring seven of his team’s final 10 points. That included back-to-back 3s against Durant that sent roars throughout the home crowd. He was also one of Durant’s main defenders, limiting him to just five points over the final three quarters.
Tatum and Durant battled early, trading baskets in the opening period, each showing multiple ways to break down the opposing defense. Durant had 15 points in the first quarter, connecting on 7 of 8 shots. Tatum scored 13 points, going 6 of 9 from the field.
All of this helped offset Phoenix’s 27-13 rebounding advantage in the first half.
FOLLOWING
Suns: At Hornets Friday.
Celtics: At Wizards on Sunday.
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