The beast of the East faced off against the best of the West Wednesday night in what was anticipated to be one of the most competitive battles of the season.
Instead, it was a one-sided bloodbath favoring the former, as the Boston Celtics stepped into Phoenix’s Footprint Center and walked all over the Suns to a 125-98 win.
As lopsided as the final score was, it didn’t do justice to the total domination that the Celtics achieved.
Boston had both its best defensive half and its largest single-half point differential of the season in the first 24 minutes, as it took a 69-42 lead into the break. It then went up by as many as 45 points during the third quarter for its largest lead of the season.
Every member of Boston’s starting five had a plus-23 rating or better despite none of them reaching 30 minutes of playing time. Blake Griffin, filling in for Al Horford (Health and Safety Protocols), led the C’s with a plus-32 in 21-plus minutes of action, while Devin Booker finished with a game-low minus-40 in 25 minutes, the worst mark of his career playing in Phoenix.
“It feels like that game should count as two losses,” Booker said in his postgame interview.
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum coasted with 25 points apiece to lead all scorers, combining to outscore Phoenix’s starting 5 by a tally of 50-44.
And this wasn’t a starting five full of scrubs that Boston was facing. Phoenix has one of the most formidable starting lineups in the league, featuring a future Hall-of-Famer in Chris Paul, an All-NBA First Teamer in Booker, an All-Defensive First Teamer in Mikal Bridges, and a former No. 1 overall draft pick in Deandre Ayton.
Yet, only two Suns starters reached double figures in the scoring department and the group finished with two more turnovers (12) than assists (10).
If there was ever an early-season statement win, it was this.
Entering the night, Boston and Phoenix had been ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in net rating. Boston had been outscoring teams by a league-leading margin of 8.5 points per 100 possessions and Phoenix was in second with a mark of 7.2.
Their lopsided matchup resulted in the Celtics rising to a 9.2 net rating, while the Suns dropped to fourth place with a new mark of 5.8. New Orleans has now claimed the No. 2 spot with a mark of 6.9, though it’s still a distant second behind the C’s.
Aside from Brown and Tatum, just about every Celtic contributed to the win in one way or another. There weren’t any outrageous numbers in the box score, but that’s just because no one had to play extensive minutes due to the nature of the blowout.
Malcolm Brogdon led Boston’s bench with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Griffin led the game with a season-high nine rebounds. Marcus Smart and Derrick White tied for the game-lead in assists with six. And Luke Kornet and Grant Williams combined for a 12-for-12 shooting effort, making six shots apiece.
What was expected to be the most challenging matchup of Boston’s season-long six-game road trip turned out to be a stroll in the park.
With that being said, there are still some tough opponents left on the slate before heading back East, starting with Saturday night’s Finals rematch against the Golden State Warriors followed by a back-to-back in Los Angeles against the Clippers and Lakers.