Suns 118, Celtics 114: Markieff Morris scored a career-high 30 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists and four steals as visiting Phoenix held off Boston to snap a two-game skid.
Goran Dragic collected 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds and Alex Len added a career-high 19 points off the bench for the Suns. Eric Bledsoe scored 15 points to go with seven assists and Marcus Morris added 13 points and seven assists.
Jeff Green poured in 28 points and Rajon Rondo racked up 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Celtics, who have dropped three straight. Tyler Zeller collected a season-best 19 points and seven rebounds in a reserve role, while Jared Sullinger had 18 points and eight boards and Avery Bradley added 16 points.
Phoenix led 60-54 at the half and opened the second half with an 11-2 burst featuring four points apiece from Markieff Morris and Bledsoe to build a 14-point lead but couldn't put the Celtics away. Boston charged back and Green gave Boston its first lead since early in the second quarter with 4:18 left, the first of eight lead changes in the final minutes.
Green intercepted a Bledsoe pass and spun away for a dunk over Marcus Morris, then converted the three-point play to give Boston a 114-112 lead with 57.3 seconds left, but a Dragic layup tied it on the Suns' next possession, Bledsoe hit a driving layup for the lead and Len knocked down a pair of free throws to seal it.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Suns SF P.J. Tucker was inactive after missing the team bus to the airport in Los Angeles on Sunday. … Celtics C Kelly Olynyk, who came in averaging 14.4 points, played only 13 minutes and was scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting. … Phoenix leading scorer Isaiah Thomas was limited to five points on 1-of-8 shooting but went 3-for-3 at the foul line and has made 33 consecutive free throws.
Phoenix | Boston | |
Markieff Morris 30 | Scoring | Jeff Green 28 |
Eric Bledsoe 7 | Assists | Rajon Rondo 9 |
Alex Len 7 | Rebounds | Rajon Rondo 10 |
Eric Bledsoe 5 | Free Throws Made | Jeff Green 8 |
Markieff Morris 4 | Steals | Jeff Green 3 |
Miles Plumlee 2 | Blocks | Jeff Green 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Phoenix | 118 | 51.6 | 9-21 | 13-16 | 30 | 40 | 2 | 11 | 18 |
Boston | 114 | 51.7 | 4-10 | 20-31 | 28 | 44 | 4 | 10 | 19 |