The shorthanded Celtics beat the shorthanded Phoenix Suns 97-81 Tuesday at Mortgage Matchup Arena on a first night of a back-to-back.
Derrick White recorded 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting, to go along with eight rebounds and eight assists, while Sam Hauser scored 16 points, Neemias Queta (14 points, 13 rebounds) and Baylor Scheierman (11 points, 11 rebounds) each notched a double-double to help the Celtics, without Jaylen Brown (knee contusion), win their fourth straight and improve to 38-19.
For the Suns, who were without leading scorers Devin Booker (hip) and Dillion Brooks (hand), Collin Gillespie had 15 points, while Grayson Allen added 14 points and Jalen Green chipped in 13 points for Phoenix -- who fell to 33-26 on the season.
The Celtics trailed 26-21 after the first quarter and led 50-46 lead at the break before outscoring the home team 30-11 in the third period and Hauser alone scored 13 points in that span.
In the end Boston used a 50-11 run to take a lead for good between the second and third quarter and the Suns were held to only 35 second half points.
For the second-straight game, the Celtics held their opponent to under 90 total points scored, as they did the same in their 111-89 win over the Lakers Sunday in Los Angeles.
Boston also won the rebound battle 61-34, with 22 of their boards coming on the offensive glass, creating 16 more shot opportunities.
"We just have to fight for perspective," Joe Mazzulla said following the the win "We need to do a better job on the defensive glass, but we ended up getting more shots than they did and the shots finally came, but credit to the guys. Even when we're not shooting well, we're still defending. We gotta keep that up."
The Celtics will conclude their four-game road trip Wednesday on a second night of a back-to-back against the Denver Nuggets (36-22). ESPN has the tip-off at 10:00 pm ET.
Game Notes:
Boston hit 40% from the field, including 13-of-47 (28%) from deep, while the Suns connected on 37% of their shot attempts and 12-of-36 (33%) from 3-point range. The Celtics outscored the home team in the paint 38-20 and dished out 24 assists on 38 baskets and turned the ball over eight times. Phoenix had 18 dimes on 29 made shots and also committed eight turnovers.
Joel Pavón
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