With Phoenix playing back-to-back road games and their 4th game in 5 nights, we knew the Celtics had a very good chance to win this one. But I didn't expect Phoenix to lay down quite like this. Boston College would have put up more of a fight.
The Celtics led by 15 after 1, 30 at the half, and 35 late in the 3rd quarter before finally calling it quits. I took at shot at Shaq in the headline, but in reality, he was the ONLY Phoenix player who showed up (actually, that dude with the pony-tail was extra scrappy in garbage time). Amare Stoudemire had 3 pts, 1 reb in 29 minutes.
Rajon Rondo (23 pts, 7 assts, 5 reb, 2 steals) was running the break and getting into the lane at will. Ray Allen (20 pts, 4-5 3FG) was deadly from beyond the arc. Forced to guard Shaq, KG (16 pts, 8 reb) played tough and controlled the boards. Big Baby (9 pts, 9 reb) and Leon (5 pts, 5 reb) outhustled every Suns player on the court.
Check the shooting percentages in the box score and you'll see similar numbers by both teams. The difference maker – the Celtics took 22 more shots (making 11 more FGs) thanks to the Suns 23 turnovers.
Celtics 104 – Phoenix 87 |Box Score | Recap
"If the Celtics were shut out in the 3rd quarter, they'd still be up by 6." – TNT play-by-play guy at the start of the 4th quarter.
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