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Offensive Struggles Continue as C's Fall to Suns

Marc D'Amico
Team Reporter and Analyst

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LAS VEGAS – For the second time in as many days, the Boston Celtics struggled to put the ball through basket en route to a defeat in Las Vegas. Boston shot only 35.2 percent from the field Sunday night and fell 87-74 to the Phoenix Suns.

The Celtics failed to score more than 24 points in each of the four quarters and had only three players score in double-figures.

“We’re so sloppy,” R.J. Hunter said of his team’s offense, “and it turns into street ball for two minutes and that just kind of kills our momentum.”

Boston made only 25 field goals during the game and none of its players dished out more than three assists.

Phoenix, meanwhile, played well at the offensive end of the court thanks in large part to its 3-point shooting. The Suns shot 7-of-19 from long range on the night, including a 3-for-5 performance from Devin Booker, who scored a game-high 24 points.

Booker and three other Suns starters finished with plus/minus ratings of at least plus-17.

The Celtics are now 0-2 in Las Vegas and averaged only 68.0 points per game over the two loses. The offense has looked disjointed, and head coach Jamie Young believes a key source of the team’s struggles is its inconsistent lineup.

“I think the biggest issue is we’ve had so much (change),” Young said Sunday night. “We didn’t have a couple of guys in Utah, and now we have them, and now we don’t have a couple of other guys; we chose not to play some guys. So I think that has a lot to do with it.”

Young is referencing the fact that R.J. Hunter and Jaylen Brown both missed two of the three games in Utah, while Jordan Mickey missed all three games. Hunter, Brown and Mickey were active for both games in Las Vegas, but the team chose to rest leading scorer Terry Rozier and James Young Sunday night.

Without Rozier and Young, the offense struggled, but there were a couple of positives the Celtics could take away from Sunday’s defeat. Mickey and Abdel Nader each put forth their best efforts of the week.

Mickey, playing in his second Summer League game, led Boston with 18 points and six rebounds. Nader, meanwhile, came off the bench to score 13 points and tied Mickey for the team high in boards with six. His performance may have earned him a promotion.

“You’ll probably see him in the starting lineup next game,” Young said of the second-round pick.

While Mickey and Nader played well, and the Celtics also got 17 points from Hunter, their efforts were not enough to overcome Phoenix’s talented crop of youngsters.

Booker, who is looking like the Summer League MVP in Vegas, scored his 24 points and also tallied a game-high seven assists. Marquese Chriss (15 points 14 rebounds) and Alan Williams (15 points, 12 rebounds) each logged strong double-doubles, while Tyler Ulis stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, six steals, five assists and four rebounds.

Phoenix’s balance is what the Celtics would like to bring to the table when they return to action at 6 p.m. Tuesday evening. Their offense has been cold thus far in Vegas, but they have two days to try to figure it out.