BOSTON (AP) _ Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each scored 24 points, and the Boston Celtics stopped a three-game slide by topping the Phoenix Suns 123-108 on Friday.
Brown also grabbed 11 rebounds and Smart finished with eight assists, helping the Celtics bounce back from a 91-82 home loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. Robert Williams had 10 points, 10 assists and 11 rebounds, and Josh Richardson added 19 points.
The Celtics were without leading scorer Jayson Tatum, who was placed on the health and safety protocols list early in the week, but Smart returned and the offence responded by shooting 54 per cent. Seven players scored in double figures.
Devin Booker scored 22 points for Phoenix, and Cam Johnson had 20. Jalen Smith scored 19 and Chris Paul finished with 14 points and eight assists.
The Suns remained without starters Deandre Ayton and Jae Crowder, who missed their third straight game because of health and safety protocols. Coach Monty Williams was also on the protocol list for the third game in a row.
Boston was coming off a dreadful shooting performance, making just 4 of 42 3-pointers against the Clippers.
The Celtics jumped all over the Suns, shooting 58 per cent in the first half and leading by as much as 30 points. Boston closed out the first quarter on an 18-6 run and outscored Phoenix 35-21 in the second period, taking a 67-41 lead into halftime.
Boston made 10 of 27 3-pointers in the New Year's Eve matinee.
The Suns were 3 for 15 on 3-pointers in first half. They started faring better from outside in the second half, but it was too late to make much of a dent in Boston's lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Paul and Ish Wainright early in the fourth only got Phoenix back within 15, still down 106-91.
MR. CLUTCH
The Celtics held a moment of silence before the game in memory of Sam Jones, a Hall of Famer who died Thursday at age 88. Jones won 10 NBA titles with Boston _ second only to teammate Bill Russell — and the Celtics retired his No. 24 in 1969 when he was still an active player.
"Sam Jones was one of the most talented, versatile, and clutch shooters for the most successful and dominant teams in NBA history," the team said in a statement.
BIG LEAGUES
The game featured a rookie official in Tyler Mirkovich, one of three G League officials who made their NBA debuts Friday with officiating crews also depleted by COVID-19.
TIP-INS
Suns: C JaVale McGee was also unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols and F/C Frank Kaminsky (right knee) missed his 22nd straight game. ... Booker was called for a technical with five minutes left in the first quarter.
Celtics: Smart returned after missing two games with a cut on his hand. ... Boston used only three reserves in the first half, and the trio of Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and Payton Pritchard combined for 32 points. Langford finished with 16 points and Pritchard scored 11 in the game. ... Tatum missed his third straight game and remained on the protocol list with C Bruno Fernando, C Enes Freedom, G C.J. Miles, F Aaron Nesmith and G Dennis Schroder.
UP NEXT
Suns: At Charlotte on Sunday night.
Celtics: Host Orlando on Sunday night.
