Jayson Tatum scored 23 points and Marcus Morris had 20 against his former team before leaving with an injury as the Boston Celtics held off the host Phoenix Suns 102-94 on Monday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

Al Horford added 19 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who picked up their fourth straight win and moved within three games of Eastern Conference-leading Toronto.

"Second night of a back-to-back, we needed a lot of energy to start with, and I felt like we did that as a group," Horford told NBC Sports Boston after the game.

Josh Jackson had 23 points, Tyler Ulis had 19 points and eight assists and Troy Daniels scored 18 as Phoenix took its 12th straight defeat and lost for the 22nd time in 23 games.

The Suns have the NBA's worst record, 1 1/2 games below the Grizzlies after Memphis' win in Minnesota on Monday.

Morris sustained a right ankle injury in the second half and did not return, adding to a lengthy list of injuries for the Celtics. Boston was already playing without star guard Kyrie Irving, who is recovering from a recent left knee procedure.

X-rays on Morris' ankle came back negative, the team announced.

With his game-high point total, Tatum became the ninth rookie in Celtics' franchise history to notch 1,000 points in his debut season.

After putting up a career-high 33 points with five rebounds, five steals and three assists Sunday in a win at Sacramento, Boston's Terry Rozier finished with 16 points, seven boards and three assists Monday.

A 31-point first quarter sent the Celtics out to a 16-point lead before Phoenix found a groove and outscored the visitors 30-17 in the second to pull within 48-45 at halftime.

Boston padded its lead with a 29-point third quarter to make it 77-65 going into the fourth.

Phoenix hung around in the final period and got within single digits on Ulis' 3-pointer with 13.3 seconds remaining.

The Celtics led by as many as 20 while the Suns' biggest lead was three.

Boston completes its four-game road trip Wednesday in Utah. Phoenix concludes a quick two-game homestand Wednesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

--Field Level Media