BSJ Game Report: Celtics 120, Suns 112 - Jaylen Brown was dominant

BOSTON — Derrick Whiteturned the ball over on two straight possessions to open Monday night's game. It was as rocky a start as could be for the Boston Celtics, and the Phoenix Suns capitalized. They jumped out to an early 8-0 lead and left the Celtics playing catch-up.

But that's exactly what they did.

Jaylen Brownbullied his way inside for the first 12 minutes of the game. He took 10 free throws in the first quarter - more than any other NBA player has tallied in a first quarter this season. And once the Suns started throwing double-teams at him, he seamlessly switched from a score-first player to a pass-first player.

Right by his side was Derrick White, who caught fire from deep range to open the second quarter. He went on a personal 9-0 run, nailing three threes. And from there, he was able to get inside, driving cloeouts and finishing at the rim.

Phoenix still managed to stay hot from three-point range, though. Grayson Allen, Royce O'Neale, and Haywood Highsmith combined to nail six threes. But Devin Bookerwas the star of the show.

The Celtics smothered him. White, Sam Hauser, and Baylor Scheiermanwere all over Booker for the entire first half. But it didn't seem to matter. He was unstoppable.

Booker ended the first half with 19 points, two rebounds, and four assists on 7-of-11 shooting. And he wasn't done there.

Boston got off to a hot start in the third quarter. They were getting to the basket, Jayson Tatumwas finding his rhythm by driving to the rim, and at one point, they were up by as many as nine points.

But Booker wasn't going anywhere.

The dominant scoring run he enjoyed in the first half didn't miss a beat once the third quarter started. Boston just couldn't contain him.

In the third alone, he had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor and 2-of-4 shooting from deep. The Celtics even started doubling him in the third quarter. It worked at times, but Booker still found a way to score.

When the fourth quarter came around, it was a tight contest. Boston had maintained its narrow lead for most of the game (since their tough start), but the Suns wouldn't back down.

Highsmith remained hot, nailing two threes and two free throws in the first half of the fourth quarter. Jalen Greenand Booker thrived alongside him, and Phoenix quickly turned Boston's lead into a one-possession game.

Payton Pritchardfound some success from beyond the arc in the second half, but the Celtics got sloppy.

Boston, a team that prides itself on taking care of the ball, turned into a turnover machine in the fourth. They coughed up the ball time and time again, which allowed the Suns to get easy buckets in transition.

Booker's gravity sucked in the defense, too, which put the Celtics out of position more often than they'd like to be. This led to more offensive rebounds for Phoenix and some late closeouts by Boston.

With just over four minutes to go, Phoenix had a four-point lead.

But the Celtics buckled down. They only gave up two points in the last four minutes of the game, and Brown looked great on offense.

Boston wasn't perfect on the offensive end. Their process looked clunky at times, and they committed far too many turnovers early in the frame. But when the fourth came to a close, Brown just found a way.

He got downhill, forced his way through Highsmith's tough defense, and led the Celtics to a 120-112 victory.

Brown finished the game with 41 points, seven rebounds, and six assists while shooting 10-of-20 from the floor, 2-of-5 from deep range, and a whopping 19-of-21 from the free-throw line (setting career-highs in free-throw attempts and makes in a single game).

Big winner: This game proved how dangerous it can be to have both Brown and Tatum

In the first half, it was all Brown. He got himself to the charity stripe at will and beautifully kicked out of double-teams. Tatum found a couple of pockets to score, but he was giving Brown room to dominate.

Then, when the third quarter came around, it was Tatum time. Though he didn't get the foul calls Brown did, he got to the basket whenever he wanted to. The threes still weren't falling, but Tatum shot 4-of-6 from inside the arc in the third, scoring nine points.

Ouch, tough one: For most of the night, the Celtics played solid defense. There were a few late closeouts, and in the second half, they had some missed defensive rebounds, but it wasn't an overall badnight on that end of the court.

That said, they got a bit sloppy in the fourth quarter. Phoenix got to the basket a bit too easily, the Celtics committed some uncharacteristic live-ball turnovers, and it looked like the Suns' ball pressure got to them.

The result was a sloppy few minutes of basketball that provided the Suns with all the momentum they needed to get back in the game.

The big picture: This Celtics group is rounding into form. And in the process, they're experimenting.

Joe Mazzulla threw out a Tatum-at-center lineup at one point. They played Brown and Tatum on the floor together for an extended period. They single-covered Booker, changed defensive assignments, and in the end, got some clutch-time experience.

Phoenix is a good basketball team. They are likely to make the playoffs in a crowded West. They play hard, crash the glass well, and have quality defenders. This was a good Celtics win.